Complications
by hpnarutardsjedipirate1234
Summary: Taken in when he was still 12, he thought the world was cruel. One day, on his 16th birthday, he found a person that changed that view, but it was short lived. Now, he's 21, he saw her again...will he finally find a reason to fight for his own freedom? Or will they finally end that dream of his?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hey guys! I know you might be thinking _'Ugh, another story? When is this going to be finished?' _or maybe… _'Is hpnarutardsjedipirate1234 ever going to finish her stories?!' _and just to answer that second one, yes… I am going to finish my stories… and I just have to make these before I even forget because if I'd leave these stories unattended for so long… the plot and storyline would be completely forgotten, because I am certain my stories would be long… don't know why though or how long, but bear with me guys… I am going to be active…

Even if I am almost in college T-T

**I don't own Naruto**… if I did… I wouldn't have killed Neji… and Sasuke and Hinata will have more scenes… and I'd probably change the title… because the story will be focused on Sasuke and Hinata…

_**~Chapter 1: How it all started~**_

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_21 years ago… _

_**July 23…**_

The day was usually busy, and everyone had their tasks. The people in the office were awaiting some very special clients of theirs, for they would be making a big deal with them today. People were becoming anxious and excited. Though one particular person was very happy…

Uchiha Fugaku couldn't be any happier, Mikoto was only a few days away from giving birth, and he was going to nail the deal for today. As he was getting for work, he could already smell the delicious scent Mikoto was cooking from the kitchen. Once he was done, he took in a deep breath and exhaled. Even if he was nervous, he still was excited for the meeting that was going to happen later on. The Senju and Sarutobi Corp. was a very famous client of theirs, and after years of persuasion to join their firm, they finally decided to give it a try.

Of course, he was going to the meeting alongside Hiashi. In all honesty, he had nothing against the guy, but he couldn't let his guard down for he knows Hiashi wanted to take control of his department for some time now… if his wife just wasn't friends with his, then maybe his treatment of the Hyuga would be different. But he wouldn't let that get through to him, if he just make sure that he still went on top, before Hiashi, then he and his position would be safe… then maybe, he'd get promoted to one of the higher positions in the firm and get his own share of it…

He went down the stairs and saw his son, Itachi, setting the table… his little fingers making sure he had set everything in place, tiptoeing just to reach the centre of the table. He chuckled and picked him up, Itachi hugging him and then went back to setting the table. After he was done, Fugaku placed him on one of the stools and proceeded to the kitchen where he saws his beautiful wife placing the cooked meals on the plates. Her baby bump had already been such a large lump, and he couldn't even hug her as tightly as before without fearing for the baby's safety…

"Hey." He greeted from behind her, his hands landing on her baby bump. He kissed her cheek and inhaled the delicious scent. "It smells delicious."

"It should be," she said, "because it's delicious." And she finally finished up and turned around with both hands holding the food-filled platter. He chuckled at her and took both plates from her and proceeded to the dining table, where Itachi was patiently waiting for the food. Both adults sat down and said their grace and begun to dig in on the food prepared…

"So, have you decided on the baby's name yet?" Fugaku asked, Mikoto paused and thought for a while. Itachi just continued to gobble up his breakfast and listened on to their conversation. When it came down to his soon-to-be-baby-brother he was attentive, not wanting to miss anything about him…

"I haven't really thought of it yet." She said

"Sasuke." Both adults looked at the source… Itachi. He said it all too suddenly that they missed what he had just said to them…

"Eh?" Mikoto said, "What did you say?" she asked, trying to process what he just said. Itachi just stared at them blankly…

"Sasuke." He said, "I want my otouto to be named Sasuke." He finally clarified, and they both formed an 'o' with their mouths. And then suddenly out of nowhere, Mikoto gasped and dropped her chopsticks on the plate. Both males stared at her…

"Oh, haha, guess he likes the name." she said, smiling at Itachi, while rubbing on her belly. Itachi beamed up at her and they all finished their breakfast. Once done, Itachi wiped clean the table while Mikoto proceeded to wash the dishes. Fugaku bid them both goodbye and then went to his car and drove to his office. While on the drive to his office, his phone suddenly rang. He looked at the caller ID, it was his secretary, he sighed…

"Uchiha Fugaku speaking." He answered and listened to what his secretary had to say…

"_Ohayo gozaimasu Uchiha-sama, there's been an update about the meeting later on 12 noon." _His secretary said

"Oh? What is it?"

"_Their flight had been delayed due to their bad weather, they were wondering if you would rather have it at six this evening?" _Fugaku contemplated a bit. At 6 o' clock, he was supposed to be home… guess he should call in late then…

"Alright." He said, "6 o' clock it is." And he hung up. He finally reached the building and went to the 7th floor of the building. He got out of the elevator and passed by Hiashi's office. The office was surrounded by glass, so he could see exactly what was happening inside, but it was 2 inches thick, that he couldn't hear what they were talking about. As he passed by, he saw them having a meeting inside. Everyone inside were Hyugas under Hiashi's control. He thought it peculiar, but decided to ask about it later and closed the door to his office who was across Hiashi's, only difference was instead of glass, it were walls…

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In the Leaf Inc. there were five big departments. First was the Security and Police Force Department. They handled all the securities in their businesses and all precautionary measures they need to have. They have their own training facilities and some summer training programme to ensure their complete safety. With a business as big as theirs, they had lots of competitors… violent ones, and they need to make sure they weren't going down just because of one tinny tiny scandal that was made up by the opposing party… the ones handling these was the Uchiha and the Hyuga clan.

Another department of theirs was the Medical and Science Department. They had clinics all over their place, for their clients, employees, employers and other people. The research facilities they had were currently on top. They had the best scientists and doctors under their employment and had signed an irrevocable contract for them. But from time to time, people that works under the department seemed to be suspicious with all their experiments and all, some even went over the line and eventually were forbidden… the heads of this department came from the Haruno and Yamanaka Clan.

Next was the Education and Social Department. They were the ones that invented in the first place the international contests and quiz bees in their region. They put up schools for the gifted… the special ones and the average ones. While those that can't afford it were given charities and scholarships, as long as they qualify. Leading in this group was the Nara family, while his other subordinates was the Aburame clan… even though they are better off in the Medical and Science department… they reasoned out it was better to be here so they could _educate _people about the importance of insects…

The fourth one was the biggest part of their firm… the Arts and Business Department. This department consisted of museums, restaurants, and other businesses. Here was where the Akimichi, Inuzuka, and just about everyone else belonged in. The Akimichi just about handled every restaurant and food stands in town, while the Inuzukas… well they were mostly in it for the sake of the animals… so they were more like animal service. And everyone else in the firm puts up their own business, getting support from the Inc.

And lastly but not the least was the City Department. This was like the clean up, but also the rulers of the firm. What they say goes, and anyone who defies them gets fired. Under this department were the Namikaze, and also the Uzumaki. They come hand in hand for just recently Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina had been married for a year now, and is now expecting their first child. They were the sole head of the firm.

And that was everything about the company. Hiashi looked over the company summary once again. He had just been in one of the most stressful meetings with the previous Hyugas who had been in the position he was in. even form the start the Hyugas had competed with the Uchiha, but none of them ever succeeded. He sighed and then sat back down on his revolving chair. He just saw Fugaku enter his office a while ago, and most likely he'd ask about what they were meeting about. But he wasn't going to say what it was about…

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The Senju and Sarutobi Corp. had just arrived a few hours ago. They were given time to rest for their preparations. The ones they were going to meet this evening were Danzo, Koharu and Homura. After knowing the names, Hiashi noticed Fugaku stiffen. The representatives were just old people, but they seemed to have set Fugaku to an edge. Maybe he knows them, but how is what Hiashi does not know, and he doesn't know that he shouldn't pry…

"You know these three?" he asked Fugaku, Fugaku's lips thinned into a firm line, and was refusing to speak about it further, after a moment, Hiashi decided to let it go. Maybe after the meeting, he'd ask about it again. Right now they were waiting for the Senju and Sarutobi Corp. to arrive. It was only five minutes before the meeting would start, 5:55pm… then Fugaku's phone suddenly rang…

Fugaku picked up his phone and stared at the caller ID…

_**Mikoto**_

'_Why would Mikoto call at this time?' _he thought, but nonetheless answered the call…

"Hello honey, what is it?" he greeted

"_O-otousama." _It was Itachi…

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Mikoto was in the kitchen, humming so gleefully to herself while preparing dinner for both her and Itachi. Itachi was setting the table for two, once he was finished; he went up and was finishing her homework. Mikoto was making tomato omelettes and rice balls that was stuffed with tomatoes. She came out of the kitchen, carrying two plated in her hands and set them down on the table…

"Itachi, dinner is ready!" she called out, after sometime, Itachi finally came down and sat with her. They said their grace, and then ate. At Itachi's first bite on the rice balls, he noticed that it still had tomatoes; he then stared quizzically at Mikoto. She just smiled at him and continued to eat…

"Why tomatoes?" Itachi asked his mother, she then gulped down her food and replied…

"I felt like it." She said in between bites, "Besides, tomatoes were the only things left in the fridge aside from the rice and eggs." She added. Itachi just nodded at her and then continued to eat the meal that was served, besides, it was delicious. He wondered maybe this would be Sasuke's favourite food. Once they were already done with the meal, they set the dishes to the sink. While Mikoto was washing the dishes, Itachi was wiping off the dirt from the table…

Once he was done, he went up to his room and began to fix his things for school. The moment he was done, he heard a crash from the kitchen and his mother screaming. He rushed downstairs, and was met by a sight where his mother was clutching her stomach and was wincing in pain. He then rushed to her but then he slipped suddenly once he had gotten near. He gasped a bit in pain, but then quickly recovered and placed himself beside Mikoto…

"Kaasan, what is it?" he asked urgently…

"I-Itachi, ah, c-call an ambulance… and th-then y-your fa-father…" she said in between gasps, and then screamed more. He quickly got up and searched for the phone. He found on the counter his mother's phone and quickly dialled the number of the ambulance first…

_**Ring….ring…**_

"_Hello, Konoha Hospital at your ser-"_but the nurse wasn't able to finish, when suddenly Itachi butted in, as Mikoto let out another scream…

"Please… it's my mother, she needs help!" he quickly said

"_Alright, please send us the address."_

"Please, we're at the Uchiha residence, please." He heard the nurse gasp; after all, there was only one Uchiha residence in the place

"_Right away!" _he felt her cover the mouthpiece, _"We need an ambulance quick in the Uchiha residence!" _she then turned to the phone once again, _"They're on the way now sweetie. Just hang on." _And with that Itachi had hung up and proceeded to dial his father's number… it rang for sometime then his father picked up…

"_Hello honey, what is it?"_ his father had greeted, his ears picked up the distant sirens coming for them and his mother. He looked at his mother, and saw her groaning in pain more…

"O-otousama." He said, his voice was cracking, "Ka-kaasan is on the floor." He said, and now there were people on the front porch knocking on the main door of their house…

"This is Konoha Hospital! Uchiha-san please open up the door!" and Itachi ran up to the door quickly, and unlocked it allowing them in…

"What is it sweetie? Where is your mother?" the female asked him, he then pointed towards the kitchen and they ran past him. He placed his ear again on the phone…

"_What is it?! Why is your mother on the floor?!" _his father asked urgently, Itachi just looked at his mother who was now on a stretcher and was being placed inside the ambulance. He was coaxed in it and he obliged…

"I'm not exactly sure why she ended up on the floor, but we're on our way to the hospital now." He said, and hung up when he felt his mother reach out to him…

"Kaasan," he said and grabbed a hold of her hand, "are you going to be okay?"

"Shh, don't worry Tachi-kun… you're going to see Sasuke very soon." His mother said, and her grip on him tightened as she let out another groan in pain…

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Fugaku just stood there, and was looking through his phone now… surely they would be alright now that they were headed to the hospital… but he had a feeling that he should go, but if he would, then something terrible would happen if he would. He looked at Hiashi, who had overheard the conversation, he sat on one of the chairs and groaned in frustration… what should he do now? He didn't know what to do…

He then felt Hiashi squeeze his shoulder lightly; he looked up and saw Hiashi looking at him with understanding. His eyes were soft, and that was not something he usually saw on the Hyuga's face. He stared at him in confusion…

"I think you should go after them." Hiashi said…

"But the meeting-"

"You don't want to see them anyway… all the more reason for you to go." Hiashi said, and Fugaku nodded at him. He quickly rushed out of the conference room, and failed to notice the representatives… unfortunately they noticed him and from that moment on, they knew they should do something about him. But Fugaku did not know about that, and was solely focused on the condition of his wife and his son… Sasuke…

He arrived not a moment later in the Konoha Hospital. He just saw just in time to see Mikoto being entered into the ER, he quickly called out to Itachi who was going to go in…

"Itachi!" quickly, his son turned around and saw him. Itachi rushed to him and Fugaku scooped him up…

"Hey, what is it? What happened to kaasan?" he asked Itachi…

"Kaasan said she'd be fine," he started, "that it was normal for her to feel pain in this stage." He replied

"Stage? What stage?" Fugaku asked, quite clueless…

"The labouring stage otousama… she said I'm going to see Sasuke!" he said excitedly, and then jumped off of his grasps and ran to the ER. Unfortunately, he was still short and wasn't allowed inside the room. Fugaku chuckled and walked to him, carrying his son once more, and they both stared at the circular window on the door. They couldn't hear anything, but they could clearly see that Mikoto was pushing diligently to get Sasuke out…

"Will kaasan be okay?" he said, still looking through the glass…

"Hai, she will be." He said, but he knew what Itachi wanted to hear, "So will Sasuke." He said and smiled at his eldest…

"Will I finally be a big brother?" he said, eyes beaming with happiness, he nodded, and Itachi looked back inside, "I'll protect Sasuke no matter what… because that's what niisans are for, ne?"

"Hai."

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"Alright, thank you so much for your time. Hopefully you'll see Leaf Inc. as a wonderful investment." Hiashi said and shook hands with the three representatives. He escorted them to the elevator when suddenly, Danzo turned to him…

"If we may… can we ask for an audience with the heads themselves?" he asked, and Hiashi couldn't refuse. They nodded at him and they finally went down to the bottom floor. He went to his secretary and told her that the Senju and Sarutobi Corp. would like to have a meeting with them and he then went inside his office. He stared out of the window. It was already night time, and it had been an hour and thirty minutes ago since Fugaku had left. He felt his phone vibrate again, and he got it out of his breast pocket…

It was a voice mail from Fugaku…

"_**Hey Hiashi… thank you for letting me out of the meeting and made me go to the hospital instead, I am really thankful," **_he sensed Fugaku struggling with his words, but he also felt that whatever happened, whatever it was, was a happy thing, he then heard a baby crying in the background, he raised his eyebrows, _**"If you hadn't then I wouldn't be here for my baby boy." **_And at that instant, the baby cried harder, trying to grab attention from his father…

"_**I just wanted to say thank you, and ask for another favour," **_Hiashi leaned in on his seat, _**"I'd like to take a leave so that I could be here for Mikoto and Sasuke. Thank you so much." Beep. **_And with that the message ended. Hiashi then tapped on his secretary's desk…

"_Hai Hyuga-sama." _The secretary greeted

"Send word that Uchiha-sama would like to take a leave if you please."

"_Hai, right away Hyuga-sama." _And then he ended the call. He remained seated still on his desk when he suddenly remembered something… or rather someone. She was probably asleep now, and he should probably be headed home, but he still called anyway… he was going to call…

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She was humming softly to herself, trying to sleep. She was knitting a small sweater that fitted a baby, and it was coloured lavender. She rocked her chair back and forth and was slowly drifting off to sleep when she heard the telephone ring. She sighed and got up. She then walked towards it, her left hand supporting her back, while her right rubbing her baby bump. It wasn't as big as Mikoto's though… _yet._

She reached the phone and answered…

"Hello?" she answered

"_Hey… how are my girls doing?" _she heard her husband ask, she smiled at the sound of his voice…

"Well, we are both fine. How about you?" she asked

"_Same as always, what do you want when I get home?" _he asked through the phone. She shook her head slightly and giggled…

"You know Hiashi, your daughter isn't even born yet, and you're already spoiling her."

"_Of course not… I'm spoiling you." _He replied and she giggled all the more.

"I take it that the meeting went well then?"

"_Yeah, it did."_

"How's Fugaku?" she asked, it had been quite a while since she heard from Mikoto anyway…

"_He wasn't at the meeting."_

"What? Why?" she asked urgently, "Did something happen?"

"_Actually… Mikoto is in the hospital right now." _She gasps, what could have happened to Mikoto? _"She gave birth to their second child." _She let out a sigh of relief and then rolled her eyes again at Hiashi, even if she knew he wouldn't be able to see her roll her eyes…

"You shouldn't joke like that you know." She reprimanded at him…

"_You know… I'm feeling a little bit left behind, we're not even on our first child yet and they are already giving birth with their second. Maybe we should step it up a bit." _He teased; she shook her head slightly through the phone…

"Don't make me laugh Hiashi… now get back here and sleep with me already." She said, and he bid goodbye to her. He hung up and she placed the phone down and went out of the nursery, going to their bedroom, getting ready for sleep…

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A week later, Hiashi was offered to solely handle Security and Police Force Department, he quickly accepted, and had failed to notice the evil glints in the three representatives of the Senju and Sarutobi Corp. who were now members of the Leaf Inc.. Later on that day, he received a notice that Uchiha Fugaku was no longer part of the department. He was mildly surprised… the Uchihas had dedicated their life in serving these people, and a whole lot of them have worked under this department. He couldn't think of any way that Fugaku would likely to accept this kind of change.

But Hiashi didn't care… he finally succeeded in what any other Hyuga hasn't achieved for so long. Finally he could take over… he could care less where Fugaku would land in next; he could easily enter any other department anyway…

By the time Fugaku had returned to office, his office was gone… he argued and quarrelled but the decision was irrevocable…

From then on things haven't been the same. Fugaku moved to the Arts and Business Department, and he and Hiashi barely even talked anymore. And slowly… the Senju and Sarutobi representatives were taking control over the Leaf Inc…

And no one even noticed… except for the growing suspicions of Fugaku…

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**AN: **This is a flashback… I know… and so will the next chapter be, but this story will have instant time skips every chapter until… they would be 21 years old already… because the starting had said… _21 years ago… _don't worry, if anything will still be hazy to you, then fret not… I'll explain more in the later chapters, but not in the next chapter…

So until next time… and watch out for **"Of Seas and Of Waves" **it will be updated on Valentine's Day believe it! ;) And happy birthday to Ayame on that day… and as of for this day… Happy Birthday to Obito


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **All righty everyone, this is the second chapter of complications. I know, I just published this on February 10, but anyhow, I can rush it since, there will be lots of time skips. And as I said, the first few chapters will be flashbacks, until they will be 21 years old…

This chapter is set four years after the first chapter…

And **I don't own Naruto**… ToT

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_**~Chapter 2: The three peasants~**_

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_17 years ago…_

It had been four years since Uchiha Fugaku had been kicked out from his department, four years since the competition of the Hyuga and Uchiha clan were officially recognized. It had been a tug of war for them. There were times when the Uchiha clan got it back, but then afterwards in the later years, the Hyuga got it again… this time though, they got it back and Fugaku was planning on keeping it to him permanently…

Because of their competition, the Security and Police Department were failing… not very noticeable though, but those that worked under it could tell. Their department were unstable, and it was divided. Every now and then, there would be accidents on the streets, and if anyone that sided with the Hyuga was involved, the one under the Uchiha would make sure there were charges against them and vice versa. It had been chaotic, and complications had arisen…

Orochimaru was just inside his lab, doing his research and his thesis statements. He had been working on something and he still couldn't get it right. He wondered what it could be that he hasn't been doing right. He had been researching about it for four years now, yet he still couldn't get it right. Why is it he still could not find any cure for cancer? Even if people had developed a way to prevent cancer from spreading, he still was looking for a cure… unfortunately he couldn't find it yet. He called in for Kabuto…

"Kabuto, get down here." He said…

"_Hai Orochimaru-sama." _After a while, Kabuto had finally arrived…

"What is it Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked, Orochimaru remained seated on the chair and rubbed his right temple. He needed sometime alone. He then fixed the papers on his desk and filed them neatly on his table. Once he was finished, he got up from his chair and then handed his lab coat to Kabuto…

"I'm leaving for a while. Tell me about the results once I get back." He said and Kabuto bowed at him…

"Hai." And he left the lab.

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Mikoto was going to the market and she didn't think she should leave behind her sons alone at home. Itachi wasn't a problem though, but it was Sasuke. He always seemed to be restless, and that was what scared her to leave them alone. Sasuke was prone to accidents but somehow he still managed to be okay afterwards. He healed quicker than Itachi, but still it had been painful for him. Sasuke was now in front of the television watching the discovery channel, but was having a tantrum with his brother…

"Demo Itachi-nii I want to play! I don't want to watch boring channels!" Sasuke whined, Itachi just poked his forehead and went back to watching…

"Ie, kaasan told us to stay inside." He nonchalantly replied.

"Hmph!" Sasuke said and crossed his arms over his chest; Mikoto was near the door already when Sasuke caught sight of her and immediately ran to her…

"Kaasan I want to go out!" he immediately demanded, and Mikoto sighed. She couldn't deny it especially if Sasuke looked as if he was almost crying. She gently kneeled down to his level and then scooped him up. Itachi walked out from the living room and watched in amusement his brother's trump card… the "cry-baby" card. Yes, he noticed that Sasuke very much loved to use it, especially when their mother was around…

"Hai, you and Tachi-nii will come with me to the market." She said and Sasuke squealed in delight. He jumped out from his mother's grip and accidentally fell from the floor, his face crashing down. Both Itachi and Mikoto made him stood up and checked everywhere if he was alright, but he just had a smiled on his face…

"Itachi-nii we're going out!" he said laughing and dragged his brother to their room not caring at all about any pain since he got what he wanted. Mikoto looked at Itachi worriedly and Itachi understood what she meant. He then carried Sasuke and they both went in the room. After a while, they emerged out and Sasuke had a band-aid plastered underneath his chin. She looked at Itachi…

"It's just a scratch kaasan don't worry, I already told him not to jump from people." Mikoto sighed in relief and grabbed Sasuke's hand tightly…

"Don't go away from me okay Sasu-chan?" she asked and Sasuke nodded at her, still smiling. They reached the market and Mikoto was already shopping for groceries, leaving Itachi behind in the playground watching over Sasuke. Sasuke was a very active child, and was currently on the swings standing up. Upon noticing this Itachi immediately ran to Sasuke and grabbed his little brother. Of course Sasuke cried, but he poked Sasuke on the forehead and made him stop and pout at him…

"Come on, let's go get kaasan." And they both walked out of the playground hand in hand. Unbeknownst to them, a certain red-head girl was following them. She was so fascinated by the small boy and hadn't noticed her straying away from her family. She followed them until they were reunited with their mother. Upon seeing the dark-haired woman, she immediately remembered her mother. She quickly turned around and saw no one she knew. She began to search frantically for her mother, crying…

Sasuke was now carried on his brother's back and Mikoto was carrying the groceries. Sasuke looked around the crowd and saw a dark-haired girl. He didn't know why but he found the food in her hands disgusting to eat. It was a cinnamon roll, and he knew kids like him are fond of sweets, oddly enough, he wasn't. He then saw her open her eyes, and he became captivated of it… it was white, for a moment he thought she didn't have any eyes, but he saw a faint hint of violet in it. He stared at her for a while, and then saw her being picked up by someone. For a while he thought it was a girl, but noticed it was a boy. She was then placed on his arm, and was followed by someone he figured was the mother of the girl…

"Sasu-chan?" his mother called out, he looked at her, "Is something wrong?" she asked and he just shook his head. He then looked back to the direction where he last saw those three people, and saw them going to the other side. He wondered who they were. They looked so happy, but he never saw his family look that happy. He wondered why…

"Niisan," he called out…

"Hm?" Itachi said…

"Has otousama ever been happy?" Sasuke asked suddenly, and both Mikoto and Itachi stopped in their tracks. He felt Itachi stiffen and Mikoto just eyed him with sorrow in her eyes…

"Yes," their mother answered, "He had been happy Sasuke until-" but wasn't able to finish when Itachi cut her off…

"He'd been too busy with work." He replied. And Sasuke just nodded at them, but he couldn't help but wonder that maybe he was the reason why his father never seemed happy. Every time he tried to make his father smile, he only frowned at him. Every time it was his birthday, he'd lock himself in the master's bedroom. And to support his theory, Itachi and his mother had seen him happy…

'_Then why isn't he smiling around me whenever it's his day off?' _the young Sasuke thought…

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She had been looking around everywhere for her mother, but there were still no sign of her. She had taken every turn but it was always a dead end. Maybe she shouldn't have followed those two boys a while ago, and maybe then she wouldn't have been able to lose sight of her mother. She was now crying and kept on asking around if anyone knew where her mother is or do they know her mother at all. No one bothered, she finally gave up and sat down on the ground and cried…

Rain had poured down suddenly, and she was still on the ground. Then out of nowhere, she felt as if the raindrops weren't hitting her already. She sniffed and then looked up to see a very pale man, with very long black hair. He had eyes that seemed similar to a snake and he wore a black sweatshirt, and he was covering her with his umbrella… he kneeled down to her level and handed her his handkerchief…

"Hello," he said, "Why are you in the middle of the rain dearie?" he asked her, she then meekly accepted his hanky and wiped her face…

"I-I w-was lo-lost." She stuttered and then sneezed. He then scooped her up gently and carried her…

"There, there, I'll help you find your parents." He said and then they looked around for a bit. After sometime, they still haven't found any of her parents. She started to cry once more. The man then brought her down to the ground again and then brought her eyes to meet with his…

"Forgive me for a while ago, but I haven't got your name little one." he stated, and she just sniffed…

"M-my n-name is K-Karin." She answered, her ruby red eyes staring at him. He just smiled at her…

"Mine's Orochimaru," he said, "You know Karin; I hear that if you're feeling sad, just eat a bit of ice cream and you'll feel better. Do you want to eat some ice cream?" he asked, and she sheepishly nodded. He then stood up and took her small hand in his and tugged her gently towards the ice cream stand, "What do you want to get?" he asked and she looked at the flavours…

"Straw-strawberry." She replied and he bought her one. While the vendor was preparing the ice cream and Orochimaru had been paying, Karin looked around and then she saw them. Her mother was right across the street talking to someone and making some gestures, she scooted closer, and Orochimaru hadn't notice her straying away…

"Please have you seen her?! She's just this tall-" her mother was saying…

"Sorry." The stranger quickly said and left her mother…

"My baby girl." Her mother said and was now crying for losing her daughter. Karin was now crying and walking slowly towards her momma…

"Haha." She said and then broke off into a run, "Haha!" she shouted and suddenly her mother lifted her head up and saw her…

"Karin!" and her mother got up from the ground and then started to meet her. Karin didn't know what had happened next because for a moment she saw her mother smiling at her, and then the next she was in Orochimaru's arms, and she was now seeing her mother on the ground, a pool of blood underneath her as she lies underneath the hood of the car. She remembered that she heard a honking of a car and could swear she was near the headlights…

Before she knew it she was handed by Orochimaru to a random stranger and tended to her mother. She finally figured out what had happened. As she was running towards her mother, a car was speeding towards her; unable to stop it honked so hard and made her stop in the middle of the street. Her mother pushed her out of the way and she landed on Orochimaru's arms. He had caught her right in time, just before she had hit the ground, but her mother wasn't so fortunate…

Orochimaru turned Karin's mother around, thankfully she was still conscious…

"M-my d-dau-daughter…" she said in between gasps, Orochimaru cradled her head gently…

"Shh, she's okay, we've got to get you to a hospital," he then turned to the crowd, "Someone call an ambulance!"

"Haha!" Karin cried and tried to reach out for her mother, while her mother stared at her daughter's eyes. Red met red, seeing her daughter safe was already enough for her, she wouldn't know how she'd live if her daughter died, because ever since the father left them, Karin had been her world…

Karin quickly untangled herself from the stranger's grasps and ran to her mother's side…

"H-haha…" she trembled as her mother grasped her little hands, "I-I'm s-sorry h-haha… please…" she then cried harder. The ambulance was finally there, but they were a long way from the crowd. The crowd was too thick and not many were too willing to move aside…

"Hu-hush now m-my darling, sweetie, m-momma's here now…" but she wasn't able to finish, she had lost too much blood already and was now unconscious. Karin wailed harder, begging her mother to wake up, Orochimaru just grabbed her and hugged her, trying to comfort her. Karin cared deeply for her mother, she dreamed that someday she'd grow up to be a successful young woman and help her mother, but now she knows that would be impossible. Her world was her mother… and now her world was lost… because of her…

The medics finally arrived, and they pronounced her dead, leaving Karin orphaned. Orochimaru pitied the little girl and took her inside the car…

He was going to request to be Karin's guardian from now on…

**.**

**.**

**.**

The Hyugas were on their way home already, when there had been a great traffic. Hiashi honked on the car, but then saw up ahead that there was a car accident. Seeing this as his opportunity he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, his wife knew of his motives and tried to stop him…

"Hiashi, please just stay-" but the car door was now closed, "-in the car…" Hinata's mother trailed off, and looked at Hinata with a sad smile. Little Hinata doesn't know a thing about had happened or what was happening. She just returned the smile to her mother and hummed quietly to herself. The rain was pouring down hard, and her father was going to get colds afterwards. She then looked outside her window and saw a black car pull up beside theirs…

A man had gotten out of the car and then tapped on the window of her father. Her mother gasped and quickly rolled down the window…

"Fugaku, how nice to see-" but she was cut off again…

"Where's Hiashi?" he urgently asked

"He's up in the front-" and immediately this Fugaku guy left and went to the same direction her father has. Hinata tilted her head in confusion. She looked at her mother and then saw a sad looked in her eyes…

"Kaachan? Why are you sad?" Hinata asked, her mother just stared at her and smiled…

"Don't worry Hina-chan," she said, "Kaachan is alright." And Hinata just nodded at her smiling back…

**.**

**.**

**.**

He had seen the whole incident and felt sad for the little girl; however he couldn't care less anyway. It was time for him to go back to his companions. He then went into one of the dark alleys where he was greeted by six figures. The other four just left him alone though while two remained beside him…

"Thanks Sui," the bigger boy said, "That was some nice food you got there. How'd you steal it?"

"Everyone else was busy with the accident, so when the store owner left I stole some." He said shrugging, while the older boy ruffled his head and left him alone with the other boy. His face was covered in bandages, but that was only because he got into a fight with the other street gangs trying to defend him…

"You alright Zabuza-nii?" the young Suigetsu asked, Zabuza just nodded at him…

"What was the accident about?" Zabuza asked him, Suigetsu stopped and then stared at him for a while before answering…

"Some girl almost got hit by a car, but she was pushed away by this woman and the woman ended up dead." He replied nonchalantly, and Zabuza somehow flinched. Just one year with them and Suigetsu had learned to disregard accidents as these as if it was just normal. Kisame must have been teaching him some things like people die every day, but he knows that everyone does not have their loved ones die… and not everyone get to see their loved ones die in front of them…

"How was the woman related?" he asked

"Hm?" Suigetsu asked, now eating his fair share of the food…

"How was the woman related to the little girl?"

"She called her… _'haha'_. Why?" Suigetsu asked him, he just shook his head and let it be...

Sometimes, when it would be just him and Suigetsu, he wished that he hadn't come with them. Suigetsu had a better chance of being adopted because he was still young. People love to adopt young children, while they were getting older. No one considered them much. On the night of their escape Suigetsu had been awake that time. Not wanting to risk it, they tagged Suigetsu along. And now, he wished he wasn't the one that initiated it. If Suigetsu had been emotional before… now, he was just as cold as the others…

And he was still soft…

**.**

**.**

**.**

Mikoto was still waiting for their father of course on the dining table and Sasuke and Itachi were in the living room watching the news. They were going to watch cartoons, but Mikoto made them watch the news since their father were still not back. Something must have happened then…

"_**Breaking news, a little girl had just lost her mother after a speeding car had almost hit her. Her mother had pushed her out of the way and was hit instead by the car. Police are now investigating if the driver was drunk, or not. Here with me is the current head of the Security and Police Department… Uchiha Fugaku." **_Their father then appeared right beside her, their mother finally joined them, _**"So tell me, Uchiha-san, what are you going to do with this incident?" **_the reporter asked…

"_**First we are going to find a guardian for the little girl, and then we are going to have to take the driver under our custody for further interrogation." **_He replied…

"_**I heard that you and Hyuga-san over there have been having some kind of competition over the past four years. Since you finally gained back the title as head, does this mean you are going to become its head permanently?"**_

"_**I have no comment on that. We are here for the investigation of a car accident and not for some silly competition over a position. If you'll excuse me." **_And their father left the reporter…

"_**And that was all for the breaking news. Back to studio."**_

"_**Thank you Kia, meanwhile in the nearby streets of that accident, there was a young boy who had set his house on fire during one of his tantrums. Psychologists say that the boy was under medication and was probably provoked, to hear more of this news, we have Hiro over there. Hiro-" **_the television was then shut down by their mother and she threw the remote on the floor. She went back to the dining table and then rubbed her temples…

"What's happening to the world right now?" she muttered to herself… Itachi knew their mother was going to cry any time now so he picked up Sasuke and tucked him in bed. Once Sasuke was in his bed he was going to turn off his night light when Sasuke interrupted him…

"Don't turn it off niisan." Sasuke said, Itachi looked at him…

"Eh? Why?"

"Because you aren't going to sleep yet right? You are going to wait for otousama right?" Sasuke said, his nose was now covered by his blanket. Itachi just stared at him softly; he sat back down on his brother's bed…

"No, not right."

"Eh?"

"Because niisan is going to sleep right beside you."

"Honto?"

"Hai."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"This child here is going to be taken care of by the Oro Lab. They are the best facility for him." Said the white haired guy that had found the little boy who had just burned down his entire house, the little boy sat on the ground with terrified look in his eyes. He was looking at his hands that were now covered in ashes, and he trembled at the news of what he did. He was a murderer, he was a monster. He couldn't control his other side, and look what happened. He killed his entire family …

"Hey," said the guy, "My name's Kimimaro, you are?"

"J-Juugo." He said inaudibly, why was this person even near him? Hasn't he heard what he had done? He's a monster, no one's safe around him. He continued to stare at Kimimaro, he wasn't afraid of him… he didn't seem scared even if he was near him already… Juugo had then arrived into a conclusion…

"Are you a doctor?" he suddenly asked. Kimimaro was taken aback for a while, but his eyes softened…

"Ie, demo I work for one."

"Are they going to hurt me?"

"Ie… I'll make sure they won't." he then gave him an outstretched hand, and little Juugo reluctantly accepted it. Juugo stood up and was now being brought into a black van. It looked just like those political people had been driving, but it had a sign on it… the Leaf Inc.'s sign. He was then seated at the passenger's seat, and the door softly closed beside him. Not a moment later he was joined by Kimimaro in the driver's seat and started the engine…

"Where are we going?" Juugo asked…

"Somewhere you'll never be afraid of the monsters this world has." He replied…

"Never?" Juugo asked, looking at him…

"Never." He said and smiled softly at him then they drove away from the house that was now turned to ashes…

**.**

**.**

**.**

Months later from the incident, Orochimaru had been working on something very dangerous. He was working on with some chemicals alone in his lab when he suddenly got distracted by a phone call. He knocked over some chemicals that were on the table and it had spilled all over the floor and onto his hands. A few days later he couldn't move his hands any longer and his research and work had been put on hold for further recovery…

On the time he was still recovering, a colleague of his had outshined him in the field of science. Senju Tsunade was now the top 1 doctor in Konoha. She became famous and well-known and have surpassed Orochimaru. Once he recovered, he was ignored, no one remembered him…

He was never the same since…

**.**

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**AN: **I know… I just published this now and now I already have a second chapter… to explain for that, it is because "Complications" was just inserted in my schedule, but don't worry… on February 24… that's **"The Job" Anniversary **I will be updating **"Secrets"**… I know… I should update "The Job" instead, but as I have noted in the past year, it is currently being edited…

So watch out for **"Secrets" **on **February 24, 2013 **everyone!

:*

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_hinaanime, MidnightDarknessMitKitten, tatoo26, Chabeli05_

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_Mistress Hinata, PsychoticSky, Sheep-san, YukiKitsune95, rainbowxpersonality…_

**And lastly, to those that made "Complications" their favourite…**

_Chabeli05, Mistress Hinata, Renting, Sheep-san, and almostflawless_

**Thank you guys! :***


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Okay guys, so I totally started to work on this chapter so I could make some revisions, and here it goes. I purposely made this author's note short... btw, they are 8 years old in this chapter so... here you go guys...

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_**~Chapter 3: The Tragedy~**_

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_._

_13 years ago..._

_**December 27...**_

So four years had gone by since that tragic time, when Sasuke had started to doubt of his father's love for him. It seemed so that through the years, his father was now treating him better now that his father's position at work was now stable. It was because of that that Sasuke now believed that his father was indeed only stressed about work at that time.

He was now at the mall with his mother and aniki, choosing outfits for the party this evening. He really didn't think it was that necessary for them to attend the birthday and Christmas party of the prestigious Hyugas tonight. From what he had heard, they were not on good terms for about eight years so it was only natural for him to be suspicious.

"Kaasan, do we really have to attend tonight's celebration at the Hyugas?" young Sasuke complained as he had tried to stop himself from itching at the traditional ceremonial clothes his mother made him wear. Mikoto nodded at him, scrutinizing every bit of Sasuke's action...

"Tell me why again?" he asked, this time his brother replied...

"Because kaasan's friend, the wife of the current clan head of the Hyugas had just died recently, and they would like to honor her last wishes by making amends with one another." Itachi finished, while Sasuke only scowled all the more...

"I know, I know," he whined dejectedly, "But can't we make amends after the party?" he suggested. Mikoto stared down at him with stern eyes and Sasuke pouted and turned away in defeat. It was really getting harder for him to win as each year passes, and today was one of those times when he just couldn't win.

"Fine," he said, "But I get to wear what I want." he tried to negotiate, at this Mikoto sighed...

"Demo, Sasuke-kun, you haven't met even one of the Hyugas, plus I heard that there is this real cutie at their lineage just about the same age as you." she reasoned out, winking at him a bit, Itachi noticed the horrified look on his otouto's face and chuckled...

"It's not funny!" Sasuke said defensively, "Kaasan, you know just exactly how much I despise girls!"

"Oh? Is my little Sasuke not a boy then?" Mikoto asked

"Of course I'm a boy!"

"Well then, you and Hinata will get along just fine." Mikoto had replied, while Itachi chuckled again at his little brother and ruffled his hair. Sasuke pulled away and frowned at him...

"Like I said, it's not funny." Sasuke hissed at him...

"Of course not otouto," Itachi said, "But your face is though." he added and chuckled again, making Sasuke more pissed off at him, as they headed home to prepare for the upcoming birthday party.

Sasuke was really not into it today... he had a feeling something was very off about the sudden invitation and the sudden death of his kaasan's estranged friend. He timing was very off... and he didn't know why but that's what he felt... it was as if this party was an instrument to something so grim...

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

This day was just not the same for her... she just was not that happy to celebrate today... just two months ago... on the day where her mother went out of the house to buy some things she had forgotten at the grocery, was when Hinata knew she'd never see her again.

Her mother went out alone and didn't come back at the said time she did. Later that day, a police came... but it wasn't just any police... but the Uchiha Fugaku who went to their house. Her father was away so she let him in... Unknown of the news he'd bring in their life...

Her mother was caught up in a robbery and got killed while trying to defend someone. A week later they buried her... and her father was rarely at home anymore... she had a feeling why... even though he's here today, he could clearly see the great change in her father... his actions says it all...

A knock made its way to her door and she looked at it. It opened and in came her uncle...

"Ohayo Hinata." he greeted, "Happy birthday." she just smiled at him sadly and looked down once again... it was usually her mother who comes to her room...

"Something wrong?" he asked, and she just shook her head, he sat down beside her...

"I'm sure your mother wouldn't want you to be sad on your birthday." at this Hinata looked up at him...

"How do you know that uncle?" she asked

"Well, as long as you keep the memory of your mother in your heart, then she's never gone." he replied...

"Is that true uncle?"

"Hai." he said and then stood and turned around to go out of the room. As he was nearing the door, Hinata immediately stood up and hugged him from behind, catching him off guard. He turned around and looked at the small figure behind him, who was now smiling brightly at him...

"Arigatou Hizashi-ojisan." she said, and Hizashi just smiled back at her...

"Mondainai." he replied and left her in her room. Once the door was closed, he recalled the smile from the little girl. Even though it was only for a short moment... from a little girl... she could clearly brighten up anyone's day. It had been a while since he saw that smile though...

"You truly are such sunshine... Hinata." her uncle said and began to walk down the stairs to continue with the preparations for tonight… after all… they are expecting a special guest…

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

Everything they had been planning on was working according to plan… until one person got in the way. They had underestimated her… they thought she wouldn't notice, but she did. That was why they decided to silence her. It was so stupid of Hiashi to bring her to one of the meetings they had. The Hyuga head insisted on his wife's presence so they tried to convince him nicely… for him to bite to their trap unknowingly… however, the wife was clever. She saw through their plan… but not clever enough…

After the meeting she confronted them, telling them that she knew exactly what they were trying to do and would let her husband know about what they are planning if they tried to make him accept the offer once again. That move was the first… and last mistake she ever did. If she just wasn't so kind, then maybe she would still be living…

"Homura," the elder lady called out grabbing the attention of the eldest among them, "There will be an event in the Hyugas tonight. Shall we be attending?"

"I think not, Koharu," he replied, "We still have lots to plan about… now that the hindrance is gone." The door suddenly opened.

"It seems like even though she's gone… she still remains a hindrance to us." The third person said as he walked in and took the third seat in the room. Both elders looked at the third person in the room, interested about what he knew…

"What do you mean Danzo?" Koharu asked him

"The Hyugas had invited the Uchihas tonight… as a… peace offering, in memory of their late mistress." He replied, and Homura unconsciously tightened his grip on the pen he was currently holding on to…

"What do you suggest we do Danzo?" Homura asked him

"I say, let's attend the party tonight." He replied

"And if the Uchihas and Hyugas would finally get along?"

"They won't." Danzo said, "I've made sure of that." He said, and then stood up from his seat, preparing to leave…

"See you then later this evening… I have some _**business **_to attend to that needs _**much **_care." He said and finally left the meeting room…

"What do you think Danzo has in mind right now Homura-san?" Koharu asked him…

"I'm not certain Koharu-san."

"Do you think it'll be like before?"

"You know Danzo, Koharu-san," he said and locked eyes with the elder lady, "He rarely strange his strategies… after all, we know it was he who planned that deadly present for the Lady of the Hyuga house." He said…

"I've had too much blood on my hands already, Homura-san… and I am getting old for this."

"Indeed… if he does this again… I'm afraid I cannot participate in it any longer."

"You'd reveal the truth?"

"No… but I will not participate any longer."

_**.**_

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_**.**_

It had been months since the Lady Hyuga's death… Mikoto's friend's death. Mikoto had been devastated about the news, cursing Fugaku for some days since the incident about the fates being unfair to her… and blaming them for the reason they weren't able to keep in touch with her childhood friend. He knew it was partially his fault… and partially Hiashi… because they were both the reason for the open wide feud that had been happening these past eight years between the Uchihas and the Hyugas.

He sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to focus on work… but how could he when he knew that the other party wasn't doing their own job? It was so difficult when he was going to do all this stuff by himself. He understood that they are going through a rough time… yet so was he. He stopped reading the files and dropped the on his desk, looking out his office window, which showed him Hyuga Hiashi's meeting room…

'_He's at it again.' _He thought, looking at Hiashi shuffling around his office. He became obsessed about the robber, Fugaku noticed. He's been at it for weeks already, still not stopping. He comes in early, yet goes home so late. He often wondered if he was doing this to get revenge, or was just making sure people won't feel what he and his daughters had felt… probably both he thought. He looked at the time…

It was already six o' clock…

He sighed and got up from his chair and gathered up his suitcase and walked out of his door. He then noticed that Hiashi wasn't anywhere near leaving his office. He sighed… he walked towards Hiashi's office and gently knocked on the glass. Hiashi looked up and eyed him in confusion. He sighed and gestured to the wall clock on Hiashi's wall. He stared at it for a while then turned back to Fugaku and nodded…

As Fugaku had guessed… he nearly forgot about the date today. If he hadn't reminded Hiashi… he probably would miss his eldest's eighth birthday…

Hiashi sighed as Fugaku was finally out of his line of sight. He didn't think he'd forget the date of his daughter's death. Probably because he was so busy trying to track down the robber. It was only weeks ago that they received a report that the robber had gone missing. They didn't know how it had happened, but one thing was clear. After the investigation, it was declared there had been no picking on the locks… which could only mean two things… the lock was accidentally left open… or someone allowed him to escape.

In the first place, the background of the suspect was puzzling. He came from a well-off family… so why would he try to steal? Secondly, after the escape of the fugitive was reported, the supposedly victim had gone missing. After being in the witness protection program, they left the person alone. The day after the escape, they came to inform the witness, but it was gone… just like that.

It wasn't normal… it was as if it was planned or something…

Before he could even look at the files more about the investigation, his phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket and looked at who the caller was…

_**Hizashi**_

He sighed, and a sense of nostalgia washed over him. It was during this time that his wife would call him. Ask him about when he's going home, and how his day was… but now, she was gone… he'd never hear her voice again… or feel her touch or kiss… taste her food… he really missed her so much… he wanted to die… end his life when he came back and there was no wife of him that greeted… instead it was his two baby girls crying that ran up to him…

He sighed and finally answered his phone…

"Hai?" he answered

"_Where the hell are you Hiashi?! You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago." _His brother said, and he mentally groaned, _"In case you forgot Hiashi… this is your daughter's day… not get your ass here quick. She needs you." _and with that, Hizashi hung up on him. He stood there, for what seemed like forever looking at his phone, whose screensaver was his late wife. His hold on the phone tightened and he tried his best to prevent the tears from falling in his eyes… he was never good at this… it was always her who made sure things went smoothly for them… and now, everything was crumbling… nothing in the world seemed right… without her…

He then fixed all his files and placed them in one of his drawers and grabbed his suitcase and made it out of his office… out of the Leaf Inc. building…

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_**.**_

Fugaku had arrived home and was greeted by his family. They were all dressed up and ready, but his eyebrows rose up when he stared at his youngest. He wasn't wearing what he was supposed to wear… instead of the traditional clothes to respect the Hyuga Tradition… he wore something so casual… his daily outdoor wear. He stared up puzzled at Mikoto, who shrugged at him…

"He got rashes nearly ten minutes after he wore the clothes I bought for the event." He nodded in understanding and went back upstairs to change into his own clothes. He knew Mikoto was bitter towards him still, but at least she was now talking to him compared to the first week of the knowledge of her childhood friend's death. As he finally changed into his respected clothes, he went down the stairs and saw Sasuke finally ready and excited for the party…

This brought confusion to him even more…

"What the hell made his mood change? A while ago he was brooding about the party and now," he said and stared at the giddy boy beside Itachi, "he's that."

"If you paid attention to him before then you'd notice he changes his mood quickly because of something Itachi did." Mikoto answered him and walked pass him. He sighed and got his car keys, Mikoto and Sasuke got to the car first, but Fugaku halted Itachi for a while…

"Itachi," he called, "Come here for a while." Itachi then went beside him, curious of what his father's purpose was…

"What was it that you did to Sasuke?" he asked, and Itachi just chuckled at him…

"Oh, that?" he said and reached for something in his pocket, "This… mom said to only use it when Sasuke would almost win." And he gave the little paper to his father, "In this case, I just wanted to see his reaction." And he continued on with his way… Fugaku stared at Itachi's retreating back, once he got inside the car; he looked down at the picture handed to him. At first, he didn't recognize the person… but after a c loser look, he realized who it was. It was difficult to not recognize her… she had her mother's beauty after all…

It was a picture of Hyuga Hinata…

He sighed and pocketed the picture of the little girl and coolly made his way towards his car. He got in and started the engine and finally made their way towards the Hyuga Mansion. The drive towards the Hyuga mansion was quiet and no one had strike a conversation, they all seemed quiet… not quite sure what to do once they did get to the Hyuga Mansion… would they be welcomed warmly? Or will they be shunned with cold-shoulders? None of them really know… as they entered the highway, something blasted so loud… and they didn't expect what could have happened next…

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_**.**_

The party had been traditional… they were all having a great time until one of the servants came to them running at a frantic pace… all the guests stopped as the servant hurriedly made his way towards the father of the hostess… Hiashi. He had been drinking his red wine with some of his subordinates until he was disrupted by the panic-stricken servant. They whispered for a while, and Hinata could only watch the exchange between the two…

She noticed her father nod at her uncle and ran towards the house. She tilted her head in confusion… was there something wrong? What was it so urgent that happened? She quietly sneaked her way through the crowd and followed her father into the living room, where her father and the other guests had come crowding in… the volume of the television was in its full volume, that it echoed throughout the whole mansion, and everyone listening were on fully focused on the nightly news…

"_**Here we are at Konoha High way, where there had been an accident regarding the Uchiha family. One of the witnesses says that they only heard a loud blast and the car had immediately lost control and had crashed towards the incoming truck. A few moments later after the crash, the driver had ran away from the scene of the crime and vanished. A few moments later were then only when some police under the Uchiha's unit had come to come to their superior's aid. However," **_then the screen had immediately flashed from the reporter, to two stretchers that were now covered in white blankets…

"_**When the ambulance had arrived, both Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto had already been dead, due to the impact of the crash. Meanwhile, their sons, both Itachi and Sasuke had been rushed to the hospital. Itachi Uchiha had died upon arrival, leaving the youngest, and last Uchiha, Sasuke in a critical condition. He is now currently being operated in the Konoha Hospital, meanwhile one of the officers on patrol found a bullet into one of the blasted tires of the vehicle which leads us to question if this really is just one unfortunate tragedy… or did someone plan for this Uchiha Massacre?"**_

And Hiashi turned off the television. It seems as if everything was now out to get him… perhaps his wife's death had only been a warning, the next had been the Uchiha massacre. The Hyuga landline had rang, and Hiashi immediately picked it up and answered, wondering what it would ask him…

"You've reached the Hyuga residence, how may I help you?" he answered

"_This is Konoha hospital; may we speak to Hyuga Hiashi?"_

"Yes, this is Hiashi?"

"_Hiashi-sama, forgive us our intrusion but we would like to just inform you that the Uchiha Sasuke is now stable, however he is now in a comma, we do not know when he'd wake up."_

"Is that so?" he asked, and now looked at his house full of guests, looking anxiously at him, "Do inform me when the Uchiha awakens." He said, but just as he was about to hang up, he heard something in the background…

"_Uchiha Sasuke is waking up!" _he heard

"_Honto? Matte, Hiashi-sama, we just heard that Uchiha Sasuke is-"_

"_Help! Someone help me, the Uchiha is having a concussion!"_

"_Gomen ne Hiashi-sama, I have to help them." _The nurse said and suddenly hung up on him. Hiashi hasn't even said a single word yet to them, and it seemed as if everything was happening all too fast. Just this morning, they were all in good shape… a while ago, they were having fun, and now there's been a disaster and three deaths today. On his daughter's birthday nonetheless…

'_Hinata!' _he thought and immediately scanned the area for his eight-year-old birthday girl. He saw her behind one of her nanny, her eyes brimming with tears threatening to fall out already. He immediately put the phone down and made his way to his daughter. He crouched down to her level and pulled her into a hug, where she clung onto him tightly…

"Shh, my hime… everything is going to be okay in the morning." He whispered, as he kissed the back of her head…

"I'm s-scared o-otousan." She whispered

"Shh, there now," he said and wiped her tears away, "Otousan's here." And he carried her off to her room, preparing to tuck her in bed, while he'll be accommodating his horrified guests afterwards… once he's sure his daughters were safe from harm…

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They did their best to save him… however; it seems as if the little guy had wanted to be with his family. He seemed to know his parents and sibling were now waiting for him to join them… as much as they tried; they weren't able to revive him. The doctors looked at the clock…

"Time of death 9:21 pm." One of the doctors said, and began to remove their masks…

"Sigh, it's such a shame don't you think, Tsunade-sama?" one of the nurses said to her. Tsunade only clenched her fists… this had been the first patient of hers to die on her. She didn't know how to handle this kind of things, she only wishes the little boy to find his family fast up in heaven so she wouldn't be able to sleep with a heavy heart. Then again, she'd still be sleeping with a heavy heart if the boy had survived, yet he had no family to return to…

Maybe it was best like this… so that he wouldn't be living this life alone…

"I think it's better this way, Shizune." She said, "Besides, I think he'll feel dead if he's going to live knowing his family died, while he survived."

"Hai… I agree, demo, he is such a handsome kid…" she said, eyeing the very pale Sasuke who was now getting ready to be transferred to the morgue…

"He looks dead, even if he still has some blood in his body," Shizune commented, "I have to go get the papers then for the death certificate." She said, and Tsunade nodded at her, taking of her gloves and throwing them to the trash bin. She let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through her golden locks, it had been a long night for them and everything happened so fast for them. The accident… the operation, the stabilizing of the Uchiha and now his death…

He was so young… and now he wouldn't be able to live life… wouldn't be able to have a chance to reach his dreams… why was life so complicated? She looked at the wall clock again…

_9:26pm_

She sighed and went out of the operating room, she reached the nurse's station, where Shizune handed her the papers, and she dialed the Hyuga residence… it rang a few times before someone picked it up…

"_Hyuga residence how may we help you?"_

"May I speak to the head of the house?" she said

"_I'm so sorry madam, but Hyuga-sama is still attending to the young mistress, can I leave a message?"_ Tsunade took a deep breath before imparting her last words…

"Uchiha Sasuke is dead." She said and hung up. She took the papers with her as she was making her way back to the operating room. She looked at the wall clock once again…

_9:31pm_

The moment she walked in the room everything she had been holding on to slipped out of her hands… she halted in her tracks, causing some nurses that followed her to crash to her back. Once they recovered they immediately picked up the papers and things on the floor and came to check on her… but she just stayed there, glued to the spot, her eyes as wide as saucers… the nurses stared inside the room and the effect was the same…

They were all stunned by what they say…

He was alive… the monitor was already beeping… he was looking at the chart that was placed beside him… how could it be? It was all clear to them he was dead… at least for ten minutes… Tsunade was the first to recover from the shock… and rushed beside the confused boy…

Seems like everything does come with a price…

The price for his life? It was his memories… all of it…

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**AN: **okay, so that was chapter 3 everybody… sorry about the whole tragic atmosphere everyone but it was inevitable for this story… as much as I hate being a murderous author… I have to murder characters… please don't hate me… am really sorry for the suckish accident scene, not very experienced in that field…

Anyway, watch out for the re-written "Chapter 2" of "The Job" on March 28, 2013

Finally, it's summer…

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_AnimeLover431_

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_Happyhelper83, SarcasticScript_

**And lastly, to those that made "Complications" their favourite…**

_Happyhelper83_

**Thank you guys! :***


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **okay… so looking back at some of my schedules… I'm barely catching up, now that it is summer - -" I don't know why, but I really have to follow it because if I don't… well then, trust me it'll be chaotic… anyway… sorry for the dramatic atmosphere in the previous chapter… please don't hate me… and if you guys were wondering why it was place on a sci-fi category… you'll find out… hopefully in this chapter… anyway… this is the fourth chapter minna! Enjoy :3 and before I forget…

I don't own Naruto or any of its characters

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_**~Chapter 4: A tearful goodbye~**_

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_9 years ago…_

He was looking outside a window in one cold night… he couldn't remember why he got there in the first place. It seemed to him, he had been in this condition before… he doesn't know how, but he had a feeling it was something not good. He looked around; there were currently four occupants in the car, including him. He tried to take a closer look with them… he couldn't recognize them, but he has some sense of familiarity…

Who were they? He thought, and how was he able to get in there with them?

Not a moment later the car started to lose control and immediately they were going in for the crash… the man beside him was wickedly fast and came towards him… he couldn't move… he couldn't speak, the man quickly engulfed him in his arms… shielding him from the impact…

"Sasuke!"

That was the only scream he had heard before everything went black and he woke up panting very hard on his bed…that was when he realized it was only just a dream… or is it?

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For years they have been looking for him… they wanted to see who it was that really turned the tables in the scientific world. Everyone was out to get him… and they have to have him. No one was going to get him… no one… they have to be the first one to discover him and discover the answer why he lived… could it be, that in his body lies the answer to immortality? Or did they all have it?

He was over thinking things again, last time it did… it almost cost him his arms. He sighed, for four years they tried to adopt him… for four years, this time they made sure they were going to pass… they made sure, they'd finally have a right to adopt him and… _care _for him. They weren't heartless. They knew it must have been hard for the little boy, and now that he is all alone in the world… he needs a proper place to stay… to call his home… the Oro Lab…

The door suddenly burst open with Kimimaro walking in, Juugo followed shortly afterwards. Juugo came on a regular basis for daily diagnosis. They now knew, he had a split personality, and the shifting of his personality changes abruptly… and irregularly. Juugo sat down on one of the stools as Orochimaru began to check up on him. Kimimaro stood beside Juugo, making sure he wasn't going to get scared…

The door opened once again and Kabuto came in with an envelope in hand. Orochimaru spared him a glance…

"Yes Kabuto?" he asked, finishing up with an injection for Juugo, "What is it?" he asked as he injected a calming medicine in Juugo's veins. Kabuto help up the envelope, and place it gently on the table…

"We got it." He replied, "We finally have the custody over Uchiha Sasuke." Kabuto replied. And Orochimaru smirked…

"Finally," he said straightening up, "I can finally start to work on my new project then, when can we get him?" he asked

"They wanted us to get him when his class ends today." He replied, "Shall we prepare the van then?"

"Was Sasuke already notified?" and Kabuto nodded, "Then you may prepare the things needed to." He then turned his attention back to Kimimaro, "You go with Kabuto later on." And Kimimaro nodded as he escorted Juugo back to his facility.

Finally, he then picked up a telephone and then dialled on it. It rang for a few times before somebody had answered…

"_Moshi moshi, you have reached the Oro Lab facilities, how can we help you today?" _the person said, but Orochimaru knew exactly who it was…

"Karin dear," he said, "How are you?"

"_O-orochimaru-sama, I've been fine. Is there something you need?"_

"As a matter of fact, yes, there is something I need." He said now smirking, "Prepare _that _room… we're finally going to use it."

"_Hai, right away!" _and she hung up. Things are finally looking up, and with this experiment they are finally going to get back on top… and everyone will regret ever forgetting about everything he had done for them. After his years of research, the gods blessed him with this person… with his help, he was going to bring Tsunade down on her knees… and he'll be on top of everything!

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'_Kring, kring'_

A sleepy hand reached out and turned the alarm clock off. She turned to her side and opened her eyes tiredly. Why school has to be so early, she would think. She reluctantly sat up to make her way to the bathroom to get ready for school. Once she reached the shower, she let the ice cold water hit her pale ivory skin. She shivered slightly at the contact. After she was done she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her, drying herself up and got dressed in the school uniform.

She fixed her things and went down to get some breakfast. Her father was out early and Neji and Hanabi were already eating breakfast. Things never really were the same. Just two years ago, Neji's father, Uncle Hizashi died. He was under an investigation assigned to him by their father, and he was killed in the process. He had been very near in finding the culprit, until he was murdered… and now their father had been so cold, they didn't seem to know where there once loving father is…

Neji was the same. He knew it was their father who gave uncle Hizashi that task… and he grew bitter towards them. It was tough growing up in his shoes… his mother died in childbirth and he looked up to his father. He was still respectful, but deep inside he secretly loathed their father. They didn't know what the investigation was about… but somehow Neji knew…

Neji stood up from the dining table and gathered his things and made his way for the door. Both Hanabi and Hinata looked at the retreating figure of their cousin as he shut the door behind him. Once he was out Hanabi scoffed…

"What a bastard… didn't even wait up for us." She mumbled

"Hanabi," Hinata said, "He's still our cousin."

"Stop defending him neechan."

"I'm only telling you that-"

"I know!" Hanabi hissed, "But it isn't our fault why uncle Hizashi died! We loved him too!" and Hanabi stood up from the dining table and went upstairs to prepare her things. Hinata knew it wasn't only Neji that had been hurting. After their mother died, uncle Hizashi was the one there for them whenever their father wasn't, they grew close, but now things had been falling apart.

Hinata finally stood up and went to fix the table and now prepared for school. Both she and Hanabi went together to school. The walk towards it was silent, it always was. They'd always remember the times when it used to be the three of them walking together… but now, it was only just the two of them… why was life so unfair? Did it really have to be them to experience this kind of pain… this kind of loss? When will there be peace in their lives? Are things even going to get better or get worse for them?

They finally arrived at their school and went to their respective classrooms. Hinata took a seat next to the window, in the far back of the classroom. She may be short, but she had excellent eyesight and could clearly see no matter how small it was written there. Class started shortly afterwards, but she didn't seem to be paying attention. She was looking outside… enjoying the scenery until she noticed a person underneath the Sakura tree near the classroom.

He appeared to be sleeping and Hinata fought the urge to tell the teacher that there was someone outside… it'll only be proof that she wasn't paying attention. She took a better look at him and noticed he indeed was sleeping…. But whatever it was, he didn't seem to be having a good sleep. His forehead was ceased to a frown and he was sweating like crazy, constant twitching of his fingers… he definitely was having a bad dream. The bell rang and students rushed outside the classroom, she followed not before looking back at the boy who was now awake with his fists clenching…

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He had just slept through the entire first part of the school day, and he had the same dream again. He was getting tired of this things all over again… he didn't want to remember… it only ached him yet it ached him all the more that he couldn't remember who his family were. He clenched his fists and moved away from underneath the tree. Just when he was near his destination he heard someone calling out for him…

"Teme! Oi teme!" he turned around and saw that annoying blonde boy again. He stopped and waited for him to reach him, "Whatcha doin' today, eh? We didn't see you at class. Did you skip it again huh, teme?"

"Yes Naruto," he said, "I did."

"So where'd you go?" he asked, "Did someone see you?"

"No… and it's none of your business."

"Man, you such a killjoy," he said and then grabbed onto Sasuke, "Come on! Sakura and Ino are arguing about you today, I'll take you to them." He said as he practically dragged Sasuke towards the cafeteria where two loud bickering girls were waiting along with the rest of the gang…

"Sasuke-kun!" they both squealed in delight

"I was just telling Ino here that you are in my group." Sakura stated grabbing onto one of his arms, which he tried to get back…

"And I was just telling _**forehead **_that you'd rather wish to be within my group and not hers! Right Sasuke-kun?" Ino said, battering her eyelashes at him and now grabbing a hold on his other hand, and he mentally cursed Naruto for bringing him into this mess… again. He decided to settle down and sit right between the girls instead since he absolutely had no choice… they have such a strong grip on him… sheesh, he wasn't going anywhere… _yet_.

The bell had rung and indicated the end of the school break and classes were to begin. He begrudgingly compiled, regretting the fact he didn't get to visit that same ol' place he used to go to every school break whenever something bothered him… in this case, he has that dream. He couldn't help but wonder whether it was really just a dream… or had it really happened before? If it was really a memory… why is it he only dreams about that? Could it be the last thing that happened to him?

He shook his head at the thought… maybe he'll just go there in dismissal and wait for the people that were going to adopt him to get him

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The day passed by so quickly for Hinata and so far there wasn't anything out of thin air that happened. Just as bell had rung to signal the end of school for the day, she had just realized she hadn't gone to the Koi pond today. She always visited it. She shrugged her shoulders and decided that she could visit it this time, she's sure anyway that Hanabi and Neji could walk to their home anyway. As she made her way to the garden of the school, as she was nearing it, she noticed someone else was there…

At first she didn't recognized him, but suddenly realized that it was the boy who she had been staring at in the morning… the guy who had trouble sleeping. She approached him cautiously since all he did was staring at the Koi pond emotionlessly. It was like he was in some sort of a daze, like he was hypnotized by the way the fishes were moving in the little pond. She accidentally stepped on a branch, which snapped him out in his peaceful state and whipped his head around and glared at her…

She stood frozen in her steps the moment their eyes met, after some while, she noticed the glare change into confusion and she relaxed a bit. He broke his gaze of her and then turned back once again to the Koi pond. She took some steps forward, and finally was able to look at the two fish swimming in circle. She hesitantly crouched down beside him…

"Do you always go here whenever you have trouble sleeping?" she asked him curiously, and at that moment he looked quizzically at her…

"Do I know you or something?" he asked glaring at her and she blushed and looked down…

"I-I saw you sleeping… u-under the-the Sakura tree." She sheepishly admitted, he then looked surprised…

"And you were able to tell I had trouble sleeping how?"

"Y-you were twit-twitching a-a lo-lot." She stuttered, and he just nodded at her, and then turned back to the pond…

"You come here a lot?" he asked her, and she nodded, "Why?"

"My mother," she said, her eyes softening as she looked at the pond, "She liked to look at Koi ponds every single day." She said as her hand touched the waters, "She always told me it reminded her of her childhood friend… they were so opposite… yet they balance each other out like yin and yang, which these two fishes represent." Hinata finished as she now pointed out to the fishes. True enough, they almost looked like representing the yin and yang…

"So where's your mother now?" he asked her, her gaze saddened…

"She's dead," she replied, "For four years now." And they both went on with a silence. Sasuke could only stare at her as he tried to remember where he'd seen her before. She looked so familiar, yet he couldn't remember where he saw her. Could she be one of the persons he had forgotten? If so, why hadn't she approached him yet? She seemed not to know him, but he had a feeling he had seen her before…

"Have we met before?" he asked her so suddenly and she stared at him and shook her head. She turned back her gaze onto the pond, yet his eyes never left her. Why could he feel this way when he's around her, she seemed to not even know how he was looking at her with curiosity? He sighed, might as well just try to know her right?

"So where do you live?" he asked her

"Just down the road, why?"

"Nothing, aren't you going home or something?" she shook her head at him

"Are you?" he shook his head at her, "My father probably isn't home right now anyway." She continued, "He always stays late in his work. He rarely has time for us."

"Seems to me you seem to live a life of someone treated like a princess." He said smirking at her, "Do you always stay out this late hime?" he said and Hinata giggled at him…

"Do you?"

Just as they were about having such a great time with each other, someone suddenly appeared behind them. They turned around and saw a young man with eyeglasses standing right behind them with a teacher right behind him…

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto," he said, giving a hand to Sasuke, "I come from the Oro Lab." At the mention of the lab, Sasuke immediately remembered he was going to get transferred to his new _home_, as they have referred to him… yet he wasn't a fool, at the mention of Oro Lab… Sasuke had an idea what they were going to do to him, yet he didn't care. There was nothing in this world worth living for anymore; everything was taken from him including his memory…

He nodded at them and stood up, dusting dirt off of his clothes. He turned back to the girl beside him and remembered she still had yet to go home. He then turned to Kabuto…

"Can we give her a lift home?" he asked, and Hinata immediately blushed

"Ie, i-I'm fine re-really." She reasoned out. Kabuto's eyes shifted from Sasuke to little Hinata and nodded with a smile, knowing immediately who she was… at least, what lineage she came from. There was only one family with those kinds of eyes… the Hyuga clan. He didn't know how that was genetically possible, yet it was genetically miraculous that for generations, they are the only family with those kinds of eye colors…

"Let's go shall we?" he said and led them both to the van where Kimimaro had been waiting. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the Hyuga residence and dropped Hinata off, she turned around and bid them her thanks and goodbye…

"Goodbye." She said to Sasuke and he turned to smirk at her…

"See you around hime." He said and the car left. After the car was finally out of sight from her… it was only then did it hit her hard…

She had not asked his name…

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The rest of the ride had been silent and Sasuke didn't even bother to ask his new found friend what her name was, all he wondered was what it was they would do to him once he got to the Oro Lab. It was quite far, he noticed, he looked at the people in front of him and saw that they weren't bothered by the distance. He mentally grunted and looked outside the window of the van and saw the great building of Leaf Inc…

From what he heard from the nurses and the people in the orphanage… his family used to work there. He tilted his head in interest… Leaf Inc… something about it did ring a bell, yet he had a nostalgic feeling towards it. It was probably because he knew that somehow, there was a history in that place to his deceased family. Kimimaro seemed to notice the straying gaze of the little boy they had picked up in the Konoha academy…

"You really don't remember anything?" he asked so suddenly that both Sasuke and Kabuto averted their eyes from the window and stared at him, Kabuto then shifted his gaze to Sasuke, now intrigued why he couldn't remember anything…

"No." Sasuke plainly replied

"And it doesn't bother you at all?" Kimimaro pressed on further, it was unfortunate enough for the kid to lose his family in one night, but a complete tragedy when he couldn't even remember anything at all from his past! They both saw Sasuke give them the scariest glare a twelve-year-old could ever muster up and both made them gulp. Even Kimimaro never saw Juugo look at him like that, probably because Juugo would be frightening crazy… laughing and wrecking havoc at the same time whenever his personality changes…

"Just keep your eyes on the road and not on me." Sasuke hissed and went back to looking outside his window. Kabuto nudged Kimimaro and gestured to the road and Kimimaro could only sigh. No matter how good this kid was at masking his emotions… his eyes say it all. Even when he couldn't remember any of his family, he knew… Sasuke misses them, and if fate was kind back then, had let him join them in the afterlife…

They finally arrived in the Oro Lab, but just when Sasuke thought the trip was over, the ground before them opened up and they continued on underground…

'_So … it's an underground lab huh?' _Sasuke thought as they went down and continued on further.

"The building up above is for the medical check-up and all, while here underground… are the research facilities of the Oro Lab." Kabuto explained to him…

'_Pfft, like I even care about your facilities.' _Sasuke thought, completely not interested in anything about them. Finally, the car had finally parked and Sasuke immediately opened the door and jumped out of the car with his little backpack. They led him inside where everything inside was buzzing in and out with scientist, Sasuke never guessed there were so many people working in this lab, he only knew that the leading scientist in the country was Senju Tsunade, Orochimaru came in second…

He looked around and saw that inside each room were people being taught and some were like confined or checked up upon or something. Was he going to become like them? Hell no, he then was greeted by none other than Orochimaru, with a red-haired girl in tow, who was just about the same age as he is…

"Welcome to your new home Sasuke. I hope you'll like it here." He said, grinning weirdly at him, which Sasuke found odd. So this was the great Orochimaru? Sasuke expected better, he doubt that he'll like it here… Orochimaru dismissed both Kabuto and Kimimaro, while he was stuck with the mad scientist and the red-haired girl who was looking at him with wandering eyes. Sasuke mentally shivered being stuck with her in one room… he never really liked the company of girls… except for hime…

'_Shoot… I forgot to ask her name.' _the thought suddenly occurred to him, was he really that ignorant of her name? He could already feel like he knows her already yet he didn't even get her name, but there was one thing he knows he'll always remember… her eyes. She had the most incredible eyes he had ever seen. It was white, yet not entirely… it had a hint of lavender in it, and if you don't look closely… you'd surely miss it…

"Where do I stay?" he asked them, "I still have to go somewhere tomorrow." He said

"Oh?" Orochimaru said, "Where to?"

"I have a group project for school." He said and started to walk pass the both of them…

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary." Orochimaru said now smirking to him, Sasuke halted in his tracks, "You'll be tutored privately from now on and will stay under my care as long as necessary Sasuke," he said now leading Sasuke to his quarters. Sasuke glared daggers at his back, "However, you are allowed to say goodbye to them tomorrow. I'll let Kabuto join you tomorrow. Do prepare for later on." Orochimaru said and now left Sasuke and the red-haired girl with him…

He placed his bag down and checked the area, not bothering to talk to the girl with him…

"Um, my name is Karin." She started, "Uzumaki Karin." And he halted in his tracks yet again…

"Did you just say Uzumaki?" he said, now facing her. She blushed at the acknowledgement and nodded at him. He took some steps closer to her and one of his hand held onto her chin so he could examine her…

"You sure don't look like him," he said, "Yet you are already getting on my nerves just like him." He said and let her go. "Don't you have somewhere to go to?" he said glaring at her, and she looked down.

"Hai." She said and went out of his room already. Sasuke then sat on his bed and took out some things in his back pack. It was only the things that he held so dear to him and some necessities… but the only thing that matter to him was the picture frame given to him of his family. He stared at it for the longest time and wondered what life was back then with them alive? Was he really that small boy smiling? Why couldn't he find in himself to be like that carefree boy again?

A tap on the glass broke him out of his thoughts and he looked at the person outside his room… it was Kabuto. He entered the room and approached him…

"Orochimaru-sama is now looking for you." Kabuto said

"But we just saw each other." He retorted, clearly not wanting to see the mad scientist…

"I'm afraid he needs something with you right now."

"Then why doesn't he come to me?" Sasuke tried to quarrel with him, yet Kabuto was also smart…

"He's attending unto something really important and urgent." He said, and Sasuke growled in annoyance. Just one day in this place and he feels like he's going insane with the annoying people around him…

He reluctantly stood up and followed Kabuto to Orochimaru. He wondered what it was that Orochimaru wanted from him… they reached the lab and Sasuke immediately knew what they were going to do to him… check-up session…

"Hello Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru greeted, "Nice to see you again. Please, have a seat." Sasuke took a seat and narrowed his eyes at Orochimaru…

"Karin bring the things in please." He said and Karin immediately obeyed him. Sasuke could only wish this was going to be fast…

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_**The next day**_

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Naruto and Sakura had been waiting patiently in the park for Sasuke. They promised it would be at 10 o' clock sharp and Sasuke was always the early bird. Maybe there was always a first for everyone. Naruto was waiting anxiously for Sasuke now…

"Where the hell is that teme?!" Naruto said, "I mean is his new place really that far?" he said to Sakura…

"New place?" Sakura said, "What do you mean new place?"

"What?" Naruto looked at her in a confused manner, "You didn't know?"

"Didn't know what?!"

"Sasuke finally got adopted and was transferred already yesterday." Suddenly a car had honked and they both looked at the van that had appeared right behind them. The passenger's seat had opened and Sasuke came out of it. From the looks of it, Sasuke didn't sleep well last night. He had a bandage in both of his arms and immediately they rushed at him…

"Sasuke-kun what happened?" Sakura quickly asked with concern in her voice

"Yeah, teme, did they do this to you last night?" Naruto asked enraged someone would actually do this to Sasuke…

"Relax dobe, Sakura," he said, "I just ate something last night and they just got some poison out of my system." He said calmly at them…

"Poison?!" Naruto said, "And your still calm about that?!" he said to Sasuke shaking him back and forth, Sasuke pried off his hands off of him…

"Relax, I'm fine," he said, "I didn't even feel anything." He admitted, at this Kabuto just had to butt in…

"Turns out, Sasuke-kun is actually immune to poison. It did no effect on him at all, yet I could make him sick yet not severely." He explained and Naruto and Sakura stared wide-eyed at Sasuke. Truly they didn't know that about him…

"Wow, you truly are amazing Sasuke-kun!"

"Yeah teme," Naruto said, "So what poison did you eat?"

"It appears to be rat poison," Kabuto answered, "Sasuke had mistaken it to be some mint candy."

"Eh?" Naruto stared at Sasuke, "I thought you didn't like candy?"

"I don't like sweets!" Sasuke hissed, "But that doesn't necessarily mean I don't like _all _candies." He replied glaring at Kabuto for telling them about that.

"How'd it get into your mouth in the first place anyway?" Naruto pressed on further and Sakura immediately hit the back of his head…

"Seriously you guys," she said, "We're not here for how Sasuke got poisoned but rather how we're going to make our project."

"I'm afraid I'll take no part in it anymore." Sasuke suddenly said and both of them looked at him…

"Wha-what do you mean by that Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked

"Yeah teme, don't joke on us like that!"

"It's not a joke!" Sasuke yelled and they both silenced, "I won't be coming to school anymore." He said and now turned to leave them. Kabuto followed right behind him…

"Matte teme!" Naruto said, "You can't just leave us here alone and end your parting words with us like you won't be coming to school anymore!" he said yet Sasuke kept on walking away from them…

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, and Sasuke stopped, "Tell me we're going to meet again right?" he said, tears now brimming in his eyes, "Right?!" Sasuke turned around to see his group mates staring at him with tearing eyes…

"If it helps," he said with his eyes softening at both of them, "I really had a good time with you guys… all of you. Thank you… for everything." He said and now went in the van and the engine started. Naruto rushed to the passenger's seat and banged on the window…

"No Sasuke!" he said screaming, "Don't leave us here just like that you bastard!" he said, tears flowing out of his eyes, "I've already lost my parents don't make me lose a brother too!" he screamed and the vehicle drove on leaving both Naruto and Sakura crying…

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted and Sakura dropped her knees onto the ground right next to Naruto and she pulled him into a hug. Naruto could only pummel his fists onto the ground as he tried to shake the pain away in his chest…

"That still wasn't enough you bastard." Naruto said, his tears still flowing to the ground as he kept pounding on it. They both didn't know how long they both stayed there on the ground grieving about Sasuke's departure. They just couldn't understand why he would suddenly say that. Who was this guy that adopted him anyway and why does Sasuke have to stop schooling?!

These were the questions that ran through their mind during that entire time they were on the ground. Once they finally pulled themselves together they dried up their tears and tried to calm down. They both sat on a bench; their school project already forgotten the moment Sasuke announced he was leaving them. He didn't even give them a proper goodbye… what's worse not everyone was there. Where was Sasuke going? When would they ever see him again?

"I promise you Sakura-chan," Naruto said now looking up from the ground, "I'll bring him back and make sure he gives us a proper goodbye!" he said now looking at her in his nice guy pose…

"Believe it!" and Sakura nodded at him and smiled…

"Hai, we'll bring him back and make him give us a proper goodbye… to all of us." She replied because from this day on… they were both determined to see Sasuke once again… and if they have to drag him to school they would so he would give them the goodbye they deserve...

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**AN: **okay guys, I'm just going to apologize for that last part… I don't think I have given justice to that goodbye part… I wanted it to be dramatic and I don't think I really made it like that. Oh well, I wasn't really good with goodbyes… in real life or even writing them… anyway do review and tell me what you think about this chapter… and hey did you guys notice? There was a bit of SasuHina in the chapter yippee! Did you guys like it? :3

Do review… oh and before I forget…

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_Khateelynn, DageRee, AnimeLover431, Chabeli05_

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_AnimeLover431, DageRee, Lexi1130, nuriiko_

**And lastly, to those that made "Complications" their favourite…**

_AnimeLover431, Lexi1130, and khateelyn_

**Thank you guys! :***


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **alright everyone, I don't really know how long this chapter would be, but I have a feeling this is really going to be long… but I don't think it'll be that long because I can't write very, very long chapters… he he… oh, and there might be some flashbacks from other characters since, well, Sasuke's gone and all…so here you guys go… and before I forget once again…

I don't own Naruto…

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_**~Chapter 5: A taste of Freedom~**_

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_5 years ago…_

_**July 23…**_

_He stared out in the garden on their backyard. He just couldn't stop thinking or reminiscing about the last moments he has had with them. His mother died, trying to pry off the kidnappers from taking him. His father, killed the moment they tried to retrieve him. He couldn't help but feel responsible for their deaths. He was only eight, and he just witnessed his parents' death because of political reasons. No one knew who had been behind the attack, and right now, he was living in a crime scene with his godfather… Jiriaya…_

_He looked up and saw the old guy looking sympathetically at him. Naruto saw him go back and retrieve something from the fridge. He stared at him for a while, and as he returned, he broke a Popsicle stick in two and handed him the other half. He reluctantly accepted it… his eyes still locked on his new guardian. Jiriaya could only smile at him, and patted his head, his eyes directed to the sky right above them, it was near sunset…_

"_There isn't anything I could say to make the pain go away, Naruto," he said and now looking into his sapphire eyes, "But I hope you'll find a way to still be kind to others because…knowing what it feels to be in pain… is exactly why we try to be kind to others. Don't ever forget that." He said, and stood up and began to leave Naruto alone there, puzzled at what he was trying to say…_

_The next day was a school day, and he still got to school normally, but then he could feel as if everyone was giving him some hateful gazes. He looked up, and saw no one was even looking at him. He looked back down to the ground, and he felt their hateful gazes once more. Was he being paranoid? Or was everyone trying to hide what they truly think of him? He didn't feel like going to school today. He took a detour and began walking off somewhere…_

_He didn't know why, but his feet had dragged him down to the Ichiraku's ramen stand. The smell was so intoxicating and he couldn't help himself but feel drawn to it. The shop owner kept staring at him for the longest time, and even his daughter, kept nudging her father, whispering something. He figured they were fighting over who should get rid of him, so he decided to leave… but he stopped when someone had called for his attention…_

"_Oi, you there," he turned and saw the store owner, placing a bowl of ramen onto the counter, "Here… eat it." Naruto stared at it in a confused manner…_

"_But I don't have any money to pay you." He said, but he just shrugged…_

"_I'm sure we can handle one bowl left unpaid, don't you think Ayame?" he said to his daughter, who only nodded and gestured at the bowl of steaming hot ramen. Naruto grinned and happily went to sit on the stool and thank the both of them. He devoured his bowl of ramen, savoring every bit of it. Once he was done, he thanked them and left. He began to roam around once more, and a few moments later he bumped into someone…_

"_Hey watch where you're going!" he hissed at the stranger, but he was shocked when he saw another student from his school. They had uniforms so it was easy to recognize. He had a distant look in his eyes… as if he didn't care what was going to happen to him. He only brushed his comment aside, and began to walk away from him. Feeling a bit insulted, he decided to confront him…_

"_Hey, I was talking to you!" he said and blocked his way, "Who do you think you are anyway?" he growled. The boy only stared at him coldly with his obsidian eyes, before he opened his mouth to reply…_

"_Who do you think you are?" he relied, and that could only make his blood boil all the more…_

"_You think you're all high and mighty, you think it's okay to trample on anyone… especially if they just lost both of their parents recently! Well let me tell you something you don't know pain like I do!" he said, fists still clenching at his sides, however he was surprised when he was suddenly pinned to the stone wall… the boy's arm right against his neck. He could feel he was restraining himself with choking him now, and he looked at his eyes, and saw him glaring at him intently…_

"_I wasn't being all high and mighty, idiot," he started, still glaring at him, "I was merely ignoring your existence. Well here's the thing, I lost my whole family in one night… to top it off, I lost my memories… all of it, and no one really knows if I'd ever get them back. No one wants me… no one claimed me… I've got nothing to live for… so basically I'm just asking someone… anyone to take me now and end my pathetic existence!" he hissed, yet his grip on him only seemed to tighten, "You're lucky you still have something to remember them by so don't go around picking fights with people you don't know, idiot!" he finished and let go of Naruto. He gasped for his much needed air, and for the first time, he really felt like a total idiot…_

_He was right… he was lucky compared to him. He straightened up and now looked at him with soft eyes…_

"_Sorry," he said, "But you have to admit you are such a teme." He said, and he could only look at him in confusion. He really does change his moods quickly doesn't he?_

"_Hn." He only said, and Naruto could only stare at him. Perhaps the old pervert was right… feeling pain is exactly why they'd try to be kind… so others wouldn't experience that kind of pain. However, unlike the boy now walking away from him, he tried to find a purpose to his life now that his previous dreams of helping his parents were completely diminished. This boy… whoever he was, had given up on life so quickly. Believe it or not, he figures out he already had a purpose…_

_To help him find happiness once more… the gods blessed him with this boy, and he wasn't going to let him out of his sight any time soon… he ran after to catch up to him…_

"_My name's Naruto by the way," he said, then draped an arm around the surprised boy, "What's yours?" the boy continued to stare at him with a disbelieving look. After a few moments of silence, he sighed out a loud before shrugging his arm off and began to walk away…_

"_Sasuke." He plainly replied, and Naruto could only run after him, trying to catch up to his self-proclaimed friend…_

Naruto woke up at that moment, and sat up immediately. He looked at the calendar, and wasn't surprised at the date. It was Sasuke's birthday. It was lucky birth certificates were part of public records, or they wouldn't have any idea when his exact birthday was. He got up from his bed and proceeded to the bathroom and washed his face with water. He dried it with his face towel, and then stared at his reflection in the mirror. Today was a special day after all…

Even if Sasuke wasn't there anymore, they still celebrated it, pretending he was there… they often wondered how he was… what he's doing nowadays and most importantly where he was. They went to the Oro Lab, but they refused to say where Sasuke was, which was quite peculiar. However, he didn't need to think about that. In remembrance of Sasuke, wherever he may be, they always celebrate it at the park where they had last seen him… everyone else always came by, trying to see if Sasuke would show up and they'd be happy once again and really enjoy…

"Happy birthday teme." He whispered to himself…

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"Alright everyone, let's get busy!" Sakura said, as she began to direct everyone on what to do today. This time they have agreed to bring something that reminded them of Sasuke, and yet all Hinata could do was look down on herself. Personally, she never really thought that the guy she had been with back before had been Sasuke. Come to think of it, she didn't remember anymore what he had looked like, so she asked her father what it that he had left of the forgotten Uchihas…

Her father was shocked to hear that, so did the other Hyugas in the room that time. Her father then had reluctantly pulled out something from underneath and gave her something she had never expected him to have hidden in his desk. She kept it close to her, embarrassed about it because it had no direct connection to the missing Uchiha. Everyone had something that really reminded them about him. She sort of regretted on how she always never had enough time for her friends because she had been too busy with her own problems, but at least some things had been turning out for the better.

Neji had finally opened up to them once more not a few years ago, after his rash actions. She secretly shuddered at the thought, she almost got herself killed because Neji had tried to run away and failed to see an incoming car. She pushed him aside, but at least the driver had just stopped right on time before he had hit her. She of course fainted after that, and Neji apologized to all of them. Things were now back to the way they used to be… well, almost… her father still couldn't move on…

Sakura peered into her shoulder bag and had taken out a picture frame she had taken the first time she had been in a group with Naruto and Sasuke. It was literature class of Kakashi-sensei, and they were only required three persons per group. She traced her fingers along Sasuke's photo, and was now missing him already. When were they ever going to see him again? Were they even going to see him again? What if something happened to him, or what if they moved far away and Sasuke had forgotten about them… about her?

She shook her head at the thoughts. It was true she still have some lingering feelings for him, but over the past years… Naruto had stuck by her side, and he had never given up. He even confessed to her not a few weeks ago, and all she did was run away. Things had been awkward between them, and she didn't know how to respond. She would steal glances at Naruto and whenever their eyes would meet, she could feel her heart skip a beat and her cheeks flush… then she'd look away, afraid to recognize what was happening to her…

She looked over at Hinata, and could see her helping everyone out as best as she can. In her opinion, Naruto deserved Hinata better because she has loved him, before she even met the guy officially. Whereas she… well, she loved Sasuke from the start. But, now… she wasn't so sure about what she felt anymore. What if what she thought really was what she felt? Could she really think that she could take the guy Hinata has loved all these years? What would she feel if Hinata would take Sasuke away from her? then again, looking back at their relationship before… he never really was hers to claim… she could never make him have a conversation out of him that made him interest in her… he always was so distant to everyone… to her…

Finally Naruto has arrived in the park and everyone scolded him of his lateness and all. Hinata could only watch him from afar, and could see the way he looked expectantly towards Sakura. She then looked at the pink haired beauty. She could clearly see also the way she tried to avoid her gaze, and when Sakura looked up to meet her eyes, she could see guilt flash in her eyes and then look away. Was there something that happened between them then?

Everyone had then started to celebrate, and had taken out something that reminded them of Sasuke. Naruto took out the headband he had customized with the sing of Leaf Inc. since he knew Sasuke's family had worked there before. He had been meaning to give it to Sasuke, but never had the chance to. Kiba and Shino took out a pen they forgot to return to Sasuke, while Ino had taken out a crumpled paper that he had written on and intended to throw away. Everyone raised their eyebrows at her…

"What?" she asked them, "Is it really that strange?" she said placing her hands on her hips, Kiba murmured something about Ino still obsessing over Sasuke, and Ino only hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek and sweet talked with him. Everyone else rolled their eyes, and ignored them and proceeded on to share what they have that reminded them of Sasuke. Hinata thought that with all the people there, they wouldn't notice that she didn't show them anything yet… however…

"Matte kudasai," Sai suddenly said, and locked eyes with her, "Hinata-san hasn't showed us what she has of Sasuke-san yet." He said, of course, Sai was a transfer student, who came months after Sasuke had left and never got the chance to meet him. Hinata blushed at the number of eyes that were now focused on her, should she really show them?

"Come on Hinata! What you've got for us?" Naruto said grinning at him, and she just blushed all the more…

"Nah, don't push it Naruto, she never met the guy in person so she doesn't have anything, right Hina?" Kiba asked, Ino's chin resting on his shoulder, Hinata fidgeted with her fingers…

"Um, a-actually I-I do ha-have something." She said and sheepishly reached something from within her sling bag. She slowly took out, on what seemed like a wallet. And everyone jaw dropped…

"That's Sasuke-kun's wallet?!" both Sakura and Ino asked in disbelief, and Hinata blushed and shook her head. She then opened it up and pictures rolled out of it. Turns out, it was one of the evidence kept by the police department in the Uchiha Massacre incident. It was found inside Uchiha Mikoto's bag, and it was supposed to be a card holder… however, she turned it into a picture holder instead. In it were pictures of the whole Uchiha family, and every one of them gathered around her and looked at each and every picture in it…

"Is… is this really Sasuke-kun's family?" Sakura said, as her fingers carefully caressed each of Sasuke's smiling photos, "He seems so… happy." She finished, now tears brimming in her eyes… where was this young happy boy now? Had the real Sasuke really died, but his body still appears to be alive? They heard a sniff in the background and both Hinata and Sakura looked behind them… Ino was now already crying…

"Ino!" Sakura said, unable to hold her tears anymore "Don't go ruining our celebration for Sasuke-kun's birthday by crying!" she said, and Ino wiped her tears and sniffed once more…

"Look who's talking!" she said back to Sakura, and they all laughed at their reactions. They went on in celebrating, and Hinata could only have her eyes on Naruto on how happy he seemed to be today, even if the birthday boy wasn't around. Hinata only smiled at him, this morning she swore she'd confess. The question is… how should she confess, and would he accept? Because she had been thinking so much about it, she failed to see Naruto and Sakura sneak off to somewhere…

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"Sasuke-kun," she whispered, nudging him awake, "Sasuke-kun." She tried again; she sighed and tried to give up on making him get up from his bed. She straightened up and tuck in some of her loose red strands of hair behind her ear and placed her hands on her hips…

"I know you're awake Sasuke-kun," she said, "So please, get up. Orochimaru-sama has a surprise for you." She said and turned around to leave, but didn't fail to hear what he had to say…

"A surprise… or just another injection for me?" he muttered to himself, and she could only look at him with concern. She had been with him for four years now, yet he was still indifferent with her. He rarely spared her a glance or anyone as a matter of fact, with the exception of Orochimaru. She looked at the picture frame by his nightstand, and was about to trail her fingers amongst the glass, when her hand was suddenly gripped on firmly…

"Don't touch it!" he hissed at her and let her go immediately. He walked towards the door and opened it for her, "You can leave now. Tell Orochimaru I'll be there any second now." He said and glared at her. She blushed, and bowed and ran out of the room. The door then closed on right behind her, and when she turned to look back, she could see Sasuke look at the picture with sadness and regret in his eyes. As much as she wanted to resent him… she couldn't… after all, it was her choice to follow him in the first place, and he never noticed her following him…

Indeed, she did remember him… after all, he was the reason why she left her mother's side and ended up losing her mother. She then left the hallway and got ready to inform Orochimaru of what Sasuke had said to her… Sasuke looked over his shoulder and saw her finally leave him alone. He put down the frame and wondered what Orochimaru had in store for him now. The first birthday he had here, well, he had been confined. Second, he was placed in a tube or something… and third, well… he'd been tested by different kinds of tests that he thought of irrelevant. And now… well, might as well just hope it's not as bad as the others.

He sighed and made his way out of the room and hallway, and found Orochimaru's office. Needless to say, he was surprised when they were dressed in casual clothing, along with Karin. What were they up to now? He turned to Orochimaru, silently demanding explanation. Orochimaru only sighed and stood up from his seat and went towards Karin and grinned at him…

"Well, I decided to now test your hormones Sasuke-kun." He said smirking deviously, and Sasuke scrunched his nose in disgust…

"Hell no." he replied, he was fine with anything… anything _**but **_girls… he was fine with any experiment they'd do with him just as long as there are no girls involved. He heard Orochimaru chuckle…

"Of course it won't be like that, no," he said, "Unless of course you decide to end it that way." And Sasuke could only resist the urge to roll his eyes. There was nothing good in this place at all…

"Besides, you two are going out on a date today in celebration for your birthday. You get to choose the place." He said smirking at Sasuke, yet Sasuke could only glare at Karin…

"Hell no." he repeated, "I'm not going to date her."

"Just this once."

"Never." And Orochimaru sighed…

"Fine," he said dejectedly, and then motioned for Kabuto to come closer to him and leaned in to whisper at him. Sasuke eyed them with caution… there was definitely something up with them today. It's been what… four years since he'd last been out of this place? Indeed, the only place he'd got to see was the Konoha hospital aside from this underground lab of theirs. He then leaned on the wall beside him, waiting for their "surprise", as they call it…

"Let's go Sasuke-kun." Kabuto said and then led him out of the office with Karin following them both. Sasuke gritted his teeth…

"I'm not going on a date with her!" he hissed…

"Of course you won't." Kabuto said, Karin eyed him in surprise…

"I won't?" she asked, and Kabuto nodded, she slouched a bit… she really was looking forward to the date; Sasuke mentally sighed in relief…

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama decided to just let you be today."

"Demo-" Karin tried to reason, but was silenced anyway when he saw Sasuke glare at her. She blushed, and finally decided to keep her mouth shut and looked down on the ground. They reached their vehicle, and they got inside the car. Kabuto started the engine and came to face Sasuke…

"So," he turned to Sasuke, "Where to Sasuke-kun?" he asked. And Sasuke thought about his choices. It had been bugging him over the years already since he knew they never really were satisfied with the way he had ended things before them… he too often wondered how they are now today… and if they happen to know hime… that girl he had forgotten to ask the name…

"The park where I gave my farewell." He answered… and both of them could only look at him in shock…

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"Naruto, we should probably head back now." Sakura said as Naruto kept on pulling her away from everyone else. She didn't trust herself near Naruto, now that she knew how he felt for her. she was afraid to face the truth… always, which was why she tried to convince herself that there are more important things happening and this is just not one of it, "Please Naruto, we should head back now!" she hissed, and he abruptly stopped, shadows covering his eyes…

"Sakura," he said, and she froze, it was the first time he had said her name without "chan", "About my confession," he continued, "You never really gave me a clear answer… what's worse, and you've avoided me after that." She could feel the hurt in his voice, and was immediately regretting her actions towards him, why were things so complicated? Why can't life be easier?! Why was life so unfair?! She ranted on and on about that and her heart was tearing apart at the sight of the once strong man break down in front of her…

Why can't she just say it?

"Well, anyway Sakura-chan…if you don't want to be with me then I'd understand." He said, faking a smile… what's worst… she knew he was faking it… just say it… she kept telling herself…

'_Say it before it's too late damn it!' _her inner Sakura yelled at her, and she ran after him and hugged him from behind, tears now falling from her eyes, and Naruto was as still as a statue. He felt her tears running through his shirt, and for the first time in many years… he was speechless…

"Gomen Naruto," he could hear from behind him, "I was too much afraid… afraid of what will and might happen… demo… now I'm more afraid of what'll happen if I don't accept the truth." She said, and pulled away from him, gently turning him to face her. She cupped his face with her cold and sweaty hands, and she could only smile at him gently, tears still flowing out of her…

"Truth is Naruto I do love you… I only realized it when you confessed to me but I was scared… scared that what if Sasuke might come back… and then I still love him? What if there was a chance for us in the future? But then I realized… what if… I do accept you? What if I really did actually felt the same way as you do for me?" she said, and Naruto could still look at her in shock… and confusion…

"Uh… that was wonderful Sakura-chan… demo… I still don't get it." He said, smiling sheepishly, and Sakura blushed deeply, and stood still for a long time, a dark aura emanating from her… and Naruto was starting to become worried…

"Sa-Sakura-chan, are-are you alright?" he asked in concern and touched her shoulders, and then she looked up to him and quickly slapped the back of his head…

"Naruto no baka!" she started, "I just said everything and you still don't get it!?" she said and started to walk away from him, "Well, in simpler words since your mind obviously can't process it," she stopped and turned to face him, "I love you." And she began to walk away from him again and Naruto grinned so wide and ran after her…

"So does that mean you're my girlfriend Sakura-chan?" he asked excitedly, and Sakura just waved her hand at him…

"Whatever you want to call it Naruto." She said, but inwardly smiled at the blonde; he pumped his fists up in the air and walked side by side with Sakura back to the place where their friends are already waiting for them. Now Sakura has another problem in mind…

What about Hinata?

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Hinata had been looking around to see if Naruto was around, but sadly she couldn't see him anywhere… along with Sakura. She figured that wherever Sakura was, Naruto was also there with her. Everyone too started to notice their disappearance. Where could they have gone? Not a moment later though, they emerged from behind the trees and they both seemed to be back to their normal relationship… yet something seemed different between the two of them…

Hinata eyed them both curiously… her eyes never leaving them both. It was quite some time before she noticed that they were closer than before. They would both throw glances at each other… and their eyes shown more happiness than before… but Hinata couldn't conclude much yet… she wasn't really that close to Sakura… or to Ino before until she started to be with Kiba. Her eyes stayed on them longer, until she saw Naruto give Sakura a quick peck on the cheek as he went out with Kiba and Shino to buy some drinks…

She could feel her eyes start to water, but she tried to stop them from flowing out of her eyes… she then felt a hand on her shoulder…

"Daijobu Hina-chan?" she heard Ino ask her, and she only looked away, trying to prevent Ino from seeing her tear-filled eyes… before she knew it, her tears started to fall from her eyes, and she had to force herself to say something…

"H-hai." She said, her voice sounding raspy. She then stood up, still looking away from Ino, "I-I'll go off somewhere for a while Ino-san." She said and walked off away. Ino could only stare at her retreating back, and shrugged to go meet the others…

Hinata strayed not too far away from them… but far enough for them not to see her cry… it was for quite some time while she was still trying until she felt as if someone was looking at her. She raised her head up to see if her suspicions were true, but was stunned when she was met with dark obsidian eyes…

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They have arrived just recently. And when Kabuto tried to make his way to the place, something in the corner of Sasuke's eye caught his attention. He immediately told Kabuto to stop the car and got out of it. When they tried to follow after him, he glared at them, trying to silently tell them he didn't need anyone following him around. They retreated back inside the car as he approached the person that had caught his attention…

He didn't know why but he seemed to be drawn to her. He knew it was a girl due to her hair. She was shaking uncontrollably and kept her head buried in her knees as she hugged them closely to her chest. Her back was up against the bark of a tree, and she was sitting on the ground. She could hear her muffled sounds as he grew closer to her. He stopped right in front of her and crouched down to her level… it was amusing she still didn't notice his presence even though he was in front of her…

After a minute or so, she stopped and looked up slowly. Sasuke's heartbeat somewhat stopped when he was then met by white eye… but as he stared longer to it, he could see that there was a hint of lavender in it. She was still crying as her tears continued to flow down her cheeks. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but his hand went up to touch her cheeks, and his thumb wiped away the tears on it…

It was her… there was no mistake in it… she was hime… the only girl that ever intrigued him… he was surprised he still remembered her, even though it was just a brief moment…

Hinata could feel blood rush to her cheeks as he had wiped her tears away. She always wanted someone to wipe her tears off of her cheeks… but she never expected it to be a stranger, however he did look familiar… it was like she had seen him before… and his eyes… they were so black, and she saw a hint of surprise, but it quickly disappeared. They both sat there staring at each other, until it finally dawned upon Hinata she indeed knew him…

This was Sasuke… Uchiha Sasuke…

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They both looked at Sasuke from afar, completely confused why he wanted to approach the girl in the first place. Karin could feel her blood boiling at the sight of the two of them getting along better than he is with her. She was unconsciously clenching her fists, and gritting her teeth. Kabuto could only stare at her from the corner of his eyes. He knew she liked Sasuke… but he didn't know up to what extent her admiration for him was…

He then felt his phone vibrate and he looked at it before looking up to see Karin, whose eyes were still locked on the raven-haired couple. He sighed and then called out to her…

"Karin," he said and she looked at him, "I have to go somewhere… stay low and keep watch on Sasuke." He said and she nodded, immediately getting out of the car and cautiously approach them. She stayed a good distance away from them, and when he was convinced she wasn't going to do anything stupid that would jeopardize the operation, he left them… heading back to the Oro Lab…

"Why were you crying?" Sasuke asked and Hinata could only sniff, contemplating whether or not should she answer him…why was it that they always start with questions rather than introductions? It was like they knew each other anymore to not even be bothered by one. Just as if he was reading her mind, he straightened up and held out a hand to her…

"Uchiha Sasuke… what's yours?" he said, she blushed and accepted his hand sheepishly and then stood up…

"Hyuga Hinata." She replied, he nodded but continued to stare at her, and she was beginning to feel very self conscious… was there something on her face? Karin was itching to break their connection. Just the way they would stare at each other… the walk they talked so casually to each other… and just the way they kept on holding on each others hands were bugging her to no end! Who was she anyway that got Sasuke-kun so… under control?

She wanted so badly to go out and interfere but orders are orders. She was told to keep watch and stay out of his way, and she'd do so… even if that meant watching the two of them together… she was doing this for the greater good. Although she felt bad on using such a person as an experiment, and using her authority on him to get closer… it was inevitable. She had to do it… for Orochimaru… so he'd be like just as he was before… that kind man that picked her up in the streets…

"Well, are you going to tell me?" he said, and she blushed…

"Um, I-I don't think it would be th-that imp-important for you to know." She answered, and he tilted his head at her…

"I don't think so," he said, "You see Hinata; I would really appreciate it if I got to know why someone as beautiful as you was to cry on my birthday." He said, and she felt her cheeks heat up to a whole new different level… did he just say "beautiful" to her? She tried to calm herself down…

"Uh, I, um, I don't think that I'm really that beautiful Sasuke-kun… there are more beautiful people out there than I am." She rebutted, trying to avoid the question, he only took some steps forward…

"True," he said, "Then again… beauty is in the eye of the beholder… am I right?" he then held her chin up to face him, "So if in your eyes you're not the most beautiful person, then that may be an acceptable reason… however in my eyes you are."

Hinata couldn't find any strength in her to look away or break eye contact with his. He then leaned in closer…

"However… what others think of you shouldn't really matter much to you hime," he said, and she then felt her cheeks heat up all the more… she could swear that she might get a nosebleed if he comes any more closer and make her feel flustered more, "What you think of yourself is much more important." He finished and then took a step back. He seemed to be unaffected by the proximity of their faces a while ago as he let go of her chin and gave her some distance…

"Well, are you going to answer me now?" he said, "Think of it as a birthday present for me." And she could only look away from him. He was looking at her with such pleading eyes… at first she couldn't notice it, but somehow, when she stared at his eyes all the more… she could feel it… that sense of neediness… she just couldn't resist but succumb into it…

"It's embarrassing." She said, and she could feel him getting anxious…

"Just tell me." He said gently, touching her elbow softly then approaching her, leaning into her ear…

"Please." He whispered at her, and she could slowly feel her tears coming back…

"Thi-this guy I liked for many years now… finally has the girl of his dreams." she replied, and he finally straightened up after hearing her confession. Honestly speaking, it was a pretty pathetic excuse to cry over some guy, but seeing her cry just made him swallow down that comment down to his throat. He honestly wasn't good comforting anyone. He just stood there and nodded at her, then looked out at the sunset…

"Wanna go see the sunset with me then?" he asked, and she looked at him with her wet, pale orbs. He smiled gently at her and then wiped of her tears once more. He then reached into his pocket and then gave her his own handkerchief…

"Here." He said, and she blushed and shook her head, "You need it more than I do." He replied and placed it on her hands and clamped them around it. He then proceeded to the bench and patted to the space beside him, inviting her over to sit with him. She slowly took the seat beside him, and made herself comfortable while watching the sunset with him…

"If my memory serves me correctly," he started, "I've read in a book entitled 'The Little Prince' that one enjoys sunsets when they're sad." He stated and looked at her, "Well… do you?" he asked and she only giggled. Somehow… being in his presence made her feel at ease… when he would say something, it would just strike a chord in her, as if everything he said had some deeper meaning…

"That book also stated that what is essential is invisible to the eye, hime." He said as he looked back to the sunset, "So maybe you don't have to get the guy you really like… maybe just being his friend is enough already and is what really is important." He said, and Hinata could feel herself blushing all the more. She looked back at the sunset, and indeed it was beautiful…

"Sasuke-kun," she called out and he looked at her, "Arigatou." She stated smiling at him; he only smirked at her… satisfied he was able to make her smile…

"Now that hime… that was a wonderful present." He said to her, and she became puzzled…

"Eh? Wha-what present?"

"Your smile… it brightened up my day." He said, and she blushed… she seemed to be blushing quite a lot today… even Naruto couldn't make her blush this much. She mentally shook the thoughts away from her head, and continued to stare at him. However, when he turned to look at her once more, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention… it was Karin…

Sasuke felt insulted by them that they wouldn't give him a moment's privacy. It was his birthday for crying out loud! Why can't they just leave him alone?! He was brought out to his thoughts when he heard his name called…

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" she asked, clearly concerned at him as her fingers glazed his cheeks he immediately knew what was happening… his eye was bleeding once more, "Sasuke-kun." She said, and he only smiled softly at her…

"Ie, I'm fine hime… this happens all the time." He said and turned away from her and wiped the blood on his sleeves. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Karin dial on her phone and he knew who it was she was contacting. And any minute now… they could come by…

"Sasuke-kun are you sure you're fine? We have to get that looked at by the hos-"

"No!" he immediately said, causing her to flinch, "No hospitals… please." He said in a much softer voice. This was bad… and every minute he was getting angry… this kind of things only happens when he's extremely angry or stressed… and right now he was extremely angry. It wasn't helping either that they are going to come here and get him…

"Are you sure?" she asked, and when he looked back at her pale orbs, he was just lost in it. Why was it that he always ends up with only staring into her eyes… just as he was about to answer her, a car had suddenly pulled up beside them and out came Kabuto… Hinata recognized him…

"_I'm Yakushi Kabuto; I come from the Oro Lab."_

Kabuto looked at her, and was surprised that the girl Sasuke had actually approached was the very same girl he was with four years ago when they came to pick him up…

"Hyuga-san, what a pleasant surprise," he said smiling, and then his gazed shifted to Sasuke, "Sorry for the intrusion but we really need to go back. Come along Sasuke." He said and then looked past behind them, "And Karin." At the mention of the name, Hinata turned around and indeed saw Karin walking towards them. Karin kept her glare on Hinata, staring her down as if she was trying to say to back off… Hinata inwardly flinched, and unconsciously stepped away, whereas Sasuke's eye had kept on bleeding…

"Ja ne Hinata," Sasuke said and turned towards the car, "It was nice seeing you again." He finished and finally got in the car. As the car went away, she heard a distant yelling coming towards her…

"Teme!" she turned around and Naruto ran past her, running after the vehicle, soon Sakura came after and ran past her too, trying to catch up to Naruto. Hinata could only eye them sympathetically… maybe she should have led Sasuke towards them instead of staying with him alone. Everyone else only watched the two of them try to catch up, but the van picked its pace up and soon was out of their line of sight…

She could see Naruto break down on the ground once more, and Sakura coming up behind him and hugging him in comfort. Her heart ached seeing him like that, she then looked out in the sunset and only noticed that it was quite beautiful, why hadn't she noticed it before?

"…_one enjoys sunsets when they're sad."_

That was what Sasuke said, was she sad? Of course she was… she just got her heart broken…and now, she sees her friends cry for not being able to see or even talk to Sasuke. She honestly felt guilty… should she tell them or not? She looked down, tears threatening to fall out again; until she felt a hand on her shoulder… she looked behind her and saw Shino…

"No one blames you Hinata." He said, as if reading her thoughts…

"Demo-" she started…

"If there was anything else everyone would do to you, it would be to thank you because you were there for him in his special day." Shikamaru said, butting in on their conversation. She looked at all of them and then saw them all smiling at her, this time, her tears were now falling out of her eyes… not because of sadness, but because of happiness… she ran up to hug them all and they did the same. A few moments afterwards, both Sakura and Naruto now came up to them, already smiling too…

"Ne, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, "You did great today!" he said and they all had a group hug once again, and once they broke the hug, they all laughed, and proceeded to go get some barbecue in their celebration for confirming that Sasuke was still somewhere near them, and that they got to see him once more… even if it was such a small time…

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They have arrived only just a while ago in the Oro Lab, and his eye kept on bleeding. They immediately led him down to Orochimaru, where he roughly pried off both of their hands off of him. He stomped into the lab, and was immediately tended to. They made him calm down, yet he was far from calming down. Soon Orochimaru came out of his office with an injection in hand. He knew what that would do… it would stop the bleeding, yet wouldn't make the bleeding disappear.

Orochimaru laid him down and injected some anaesthesia with him, and he could feel himself drowsing off to sleep…

"This will hurt just a bit… Sasuke-kun." He heard Orochimaru said, before sleep finally claiming him…

He woke up back in his room in his white clothes once more. He groaned when he could feel some tingling sensations in his eye. He sat up and saw his door opening and Orochimaru coming in…

"How are you Sasuke-kun?" he asked

"Hn." Sasuke only replied, Orochimaru sat down on the chair at the foot of his bed and continued to stare at him…

"I heard you met a girl outside the Oro Lab." Orochimaru started, "I hope you didn't let her hopes up too high." He finished and Sasuke could only eye him warily. What did he mean by not letting her hopes up too high? He didn't think he led her on to something. "What happened in the park was very dangerous Sasuke-kun, you should be more careful."

"It was Karin's fault!" he hissed, "If she wasn't there then that would not have to happen!"

"Because of Karin you were saved from a great loss of blood." Orochimaru calmly rebutted, "You should rest." And Orochimaru stood up to leave…

"Matte!" Sasuke called out and Orochimaru stopped in his tracks…

"Hai?"

"I wanna go out there again." He said, and Orochimaru sighed and shook his head at him…

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen Sasuke," Orochimaru started, "The world's a cruel place." He said, now approaching Sasuke's night stand, where the frame of his family was on, and his fingers traced Sasuke's smiling photo, "You should know it very well Sasuke-kun… this world made your smile disappear… this world took away Karin's mother… this world did this to me." Orochimaru said and now was walking out of the room, "Sooner or later, the cruelty of the outside world will catch up to them… and before you know it, they won't be the same. It's best for you not to get attached Sasuke-kun… or you'll end up getting hurt once more."

Those were the final words of Orochimaru to him. Sasuke could only lie there on his bed, clenching his fists. Orochimaru was right… this world wasn't going to be kind to anyone. It's filled with lots of cruelty. His mind kept shifting back and forth between Hinata's smile and Orochimaru's words…

"_Sooner or later, the cruelty of the outside world will catch up to them." _

"_It's best for you not to get attached… or you'll end up getting hurt once more."_

Karin could only watch Sasuke having some inner turmoil on his bed. She wanted so badly to go in there and comfort him, but the last time she did, she almost ended up in the ICU. It was dangerous to go in there whenever he was like that. She sighed and decided to go and prepare him something that will help him calm down. As she reached the kitchen, she told one of the cooks to prepare something delicious with some tomatoes in it.

After a while in waiting, it was done, and she took the liberty to give it to Sasuke. He was already calming down by the time she came inside and left is food, of course… she decided to stray inside it a little while longer, hoping he would also open up to her even just a bit…

"How are you feeling Sasuke-kun?" she asked, but he only stayed silent, "I've brought you some food."

"I can clearly see that." He retorted, and she flinched at his coldness…

"You want or need something else?"

"Yeah, for you to leave." He stated, and she could only look down and then nodded at him. Once she left his room, Sasuke could only stare at her retreating back. He didn't mean to be so cold towards her… or anyone as a matter of fact, but he just couldn't help it. He hates it when Orochimaru turns out right and all he could do is stay inside his room and feel sorry for himself. He sighed and looked at the food prepared for him and then decided to eat already.

He kept on thinking about Hinata, but he tried to get her out of his head, but to no avail. She was very difficult to forget…

'_Damn it Sasuke, get her out of your head!' _he hissed to himself, still unable to have some peace of mind…

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"Tadaima!" Hinata said, and she was greeted by her sister who came running up to her and hugging her tightly in the waist, "Ha-Hanabi, that's pretty tight." She said, and Hanabi immediately ran behind her…

"Hina-neechan, Neji is trying to kill me!" she said and true enough, Neji came not long after Hanabi said that, looking pretty pissed off. Hinata sighed and looked at Hanabi…

"What did you do now?" she said, and Hanabi could only pout at her innocently…

"I swear I didn't!"

"Oh yes you did," Neji said, "Next time, I'm going to get you for it." He said and now looked at Hinata, "Okaeri." And Hinata smiled at him…

"Have you guys had dinner yet?" she asked, and they nodded, "Is father back?" she asked too, but they could only shook their heads at her. She sighed; their father was still working up late as usual. She placed her take home food on the counter and placed them inside the refrigerator. After that, she went to her room to freshen up and change into her pyjamas. Once she was done, she lay down on her bed and then looked at the articles of clothing sprawled on the floor, until she caught sight of an unfamiliar looking handkerchief…

"_Here." He said, and she blushed and shook her head, "You need it more than I do."_

She immediately sat up and went to her computer desk and turned it on. What happened to his eye was completely abnormal, and what did he mean by 'it happens all the time'?! Bleeding might be normal, but crying out blood? No, she then searches online about these kinds of conditions, but still none were able to pertain to his condition. She mentally groaned, and decided to type in his name. Sure enough, there were a few results about the Uchiha massacre and all… but after that; there were no other information as to where he is, or how he's doing.

"What's wrong with you Sasuke-kun?" she mumbled to herself, and her door opened. She closed the programme and in came her sister who was smiling happily at her, and plopped down her bed. Hinata smiled back at her sister and turned her computer off before lying down beside her. They both stared up at the ceiling together, and were silent, until Hanabi decided to break the silence…

"So, how was your confession?" Hanabi asked out of nowhere…

"Didn't happen." Hinata answered, and Hanabi sat up instantly…

"What?! Why?!"

"He's with someone already."

"At least tell him how you feel."

"Nah," Hinata said, and her mind drifted back to Sasuke, "But I did meet someone today." She said, and Hanabi became curious…

"Oh… do tell me." She said, all hyped up, and Hinata only giggled at her sister…

"He just came out of nowhere and… well, he talked to me." She said, and Hanabi squealed…

"Was he cute? What's his name?" she asked

"Sasuke."

"Eh?" Hanabi said, blinking, checking if she heard it right, "Sasuke? The Uchiha Sasuke that had went MIA in the last four years?" she asked, and Hinata nodded at her, Hanabi immediately sat up and shook her sister's shoulders…

"So tell me, was he cute like how everyone says?!" she asked excitedly, and Hinata blushed and sheepishly nodded her head at her. Hanabi squealed and immediately there was a knock on the door. Both girls focused on it, and then Hinata gave them permission to enter…

"Could you please quiet it down Hanabi? I'm trying to sleep here." Neji said, glaring at Hanabi, who only scoffed at him. "Oyasumi Hinata." He said and walked out…

"Oyasuminasai." She replied as he closed the door. Hanabi lay back down on the bed and continued to stare at the ceiling…

"So, what do you want to do when you grow up?" Hanabi asked, and Hinata was taken aback by that question. She honestly didn't know what to do yet when she grew up, but she knew she wanted to help people. She then looked back on the handkerchief, which was now neatly folded on her nightstand. Seeing Sasuke bleed like that, wanted her to make sure he was alright… that he was far from danger… that she could make that condition of him disappear… she sighed and looked out her window… into the starry night sky…

She now knew what she wanted to become…

"I want to be a doctor." She answered, her eyes filled with determination…

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**AN: **okay… so this turned out to be longer than I expected… oh well, hope you guys liked it. I am just so happy that Sasuke finally decided that his brother's sacrifice was worth fighting for in the end anyway and decided to help Konoha… I hope you guys really did like this chapter…

But if some of you still don't know that… oops, really sorry. :3 I just love spoilers :3

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_DageRee, AnimeLover431, kitty1190, Guest, LordKami, Saki-Hime, khateelynn _

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_Snoww, Saki-Hme, khateelyn, Hikari Light Uchiha, pinkllollipop  
_

**And lastly, to those that made "Complications" their favorite… but sadly no one new had added it to their favorite... :( anyway...  
**

**Thank you guys! :***


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **alright guys… in a few days I am going to start being not lazy and I am going to make sure to be on time now… and write as much as many chapters as possible so I'm going to be busy… I'm gonna be busy before school starts so that my mind would be put to use… and also because I am really starting to be lazy… I sleep in late… I wake up late… I am also eating a lot now so… yeah, I probably am gaining a lot of weight… he he… I'll make sure to lose the excess weight anyway… got any ideas? Anyway… before I do forget…

I don't own Naruto or any of its characters…

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_**~Chapter 6: Memories~**_

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"Ah!" he shouted as he woke up. He just had the same dream over and over again… no matter how hard he tried… he still can't forget his dreams. at first… it was only about the accident… and then it got worse over the years… he started to dream about his friends… about Hinata dying… right in front of his eyes… he kept on dreaming about their death and about him forgetting them over and over again. He didn't want to be reminded of them… even though in his dreams he could forget them, in reality he cannot…

He didn't want to forget anymore, that's why he tried to stop and kept on thinking about them. The first time he had amnesia, he had a pretty bad start… now that he's twenty-one years old, he didn't know if he could cope up and forget all the new memories he had made. Besides, what memories will he make in this hell hole? All he knows is that he only rarely comes out anymore, especially after his sixteenth birthday…

He was still holding a grudge against Karin about it, but he knew she was only acting under orders… orders from Orochimaru…

He clenched his fists at the thought of the doctor… no matter how great he is in this whole scientific field… he's heartless and cruel… just like the world. He sighed and got out of his bed and proceeded on with his daily routine. He checked his schedule… he has some sessions with Juugo and Suigetsu today. He smirked at the thought of the two… just what he needed today…

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'_Knock, knock'_

She heard it… but she was still sleepy… she slept late last night and she was really tired. She had just re-read the whole chapter about Human reproductive system and all and she still forget some of the hormones organs excrete and sometimes the process… while the rest was all just a blur. The knocking became louder and louder every time she ignored it and frankly it got to the point where she thought her visitors were going to knock her door down…

She groaned… she did not want to pay additional dues to the landlady…

"Hinata open up!" they said in unison from behind the door, and Hinata could only groan out loud… hoping they heard her, however it had the opposite effect… they only pounded on her door harder and harder and she just gave up and crawled her way to the door and unlocked it. Once it was open, she just lay down on the soft carpet on her floor on drifted off to sleep, but still heard a few comments about her and her sleeping habits…

"Jeez Hinata, you're going to get germs all over you." Ino said as she tried to drag the girl back to her bed by grabbing her arms, "Sakura grab her feet." She said and she felt Sakura's hands grab a hold of her legs…

"Seriously Hinata," Sakura said as they carried her to her bed, "You really need to buy an alarm clock." She said and they dropped her on her bed, "Plus all that stress needs to go away… did you know you just gained some weight the last time we have to carry you?" Hinata could really care less what they said, she just giggled and waved her hand at them and then turned to her side to go back to sleep. Both girls just sighed at her and smiled…

Sakura looked around the room and saw her biology book still open with lots of notes on the book and arrows and highlights. She sighed… after high school, Hinata wanted to be a doctor, so she took up BS Bio, while she took up Medical Technology. Ino wanted to become a nurse so she took up nursing. Sakura then started to rummage through Hinata's bag and began to pack her things back. Ino just stared at Sakura and started to tuck Hinata back in bed.

It was a holiday and the three of them agreed to at least hang out and relax. She was supposed to go out on a date with Kiba since he was studying at a different university and they barely got time together, but he got a call from his sister asking help at the animal shelter and well… he cancelled. She sighed and plopped down beside Hinata… she too wanted to go back to sleep…

"Ne Sakura," she called out, "Can't we just sleep here for a while until Hinata wakes up? It's still 6am anyway and we have lots of time later on." She suggested. Sakura paused to think for a while and then decided she too was still tired and nodded. She took the other side of Hinata and lay down beside her. The two girls stared up at the ceiling, and the only sound that filled the room was Hinata's breathing…

"Ne Sakura," Ino whispered, "How are things with Naruto?"

"Fine, why do you ask?" she said and turned to Ino. Ino sighed and looked back up at the ceiling…

"You know, to be honest the very first thought that popped in my mind when you said you and Naruto were together was Hinata." Sakura tensed up, but didn't want to say anything else, "I mean, there was also Sasuke, but he wasn't around so I only focused on the thought about Hinata feeling betrayed and hurt. There was even the point where I thought she might go wild… but she never did… she took it well."

"I know," Sakura stated, "Even I was shocked about the outcome… not what I was expecting either."

"So," Ino continued, "My mind shifted back to Sasuke and I thought about how poor Naruto was since you were obviously trying to move on with Sasuke through Naruto. I kept on waiting for something to happen… for some sign to tell me I'm right… but it never did. No offense though, but you were pretty obsessed with him back in the days. Every time Sasuke's name would come up, or even his birthday… your mood would change and Naruto seemed like the last person in your mind." She said and stared at Sakura finally. Sakura looked stiff and was clearly reflecting back…

She knew she overreacted whenever Sasuke was concerned… she just couldn't help it. Sometimes she didn't even know if she wanted Sasuke to not come back so her life wouldn't be complicated… but then sometimes she wants him back because she just missed him so badly. She was jealous that Hinata was the last person he was with. The way he just looked at Hinata… she could still remember that day… was so deep and it felt like he had somehow made a connection with Hinata… a connection only she had with him…

She looked back at the sleeping beauty. What was it in Hinata that made Sasuke attached to her in such a short while? She shook her head and just stayed silent. Naruto was taking up political science. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and somehow go to work in the Leaf Inc... Through the years; Naruto seemed to never cease to surprise her. The more she spent time with him, the more she adored him… loved him.

She didn't know why, but there was just something about the way that Hinata had reacted to their confession. It seemed like she wasn't even bothered by it anymore, like she had accepted it already. She also didn't know why in the first place Hinata wanted to be a doctor. She knew she had very good instincts in caring for people, but she had a lot of potential, especially in politics. It's not that she wasn't happy that they'd be working together, but… she just wondered why she chose to be a doctor…

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Sasuke had finally arrived in the section of the lab where there were lots of exercising equipments. It was standard procedure for Orochimaru to keep all of his _patients _physically fit… or so he says. However, Sasuke could care less on what Orochimaru needs them for; at least he could get some action regularly. He stepped in and indeed he already found both Juugo and Suigetsu wrestling each other. He smirked and took off his shirt and put on some gloves and got in with them and started to join in…

"Damn Sasuke," Suigetsu said as he wiped sweat off his forehead, "You really know when to catch us off guard." He said and threw a punch on Sasuke who was being held back by Juugo, apparently he duck and the punch landed on Juugo and he was released from the death grip…

"What the hell man?!" Juugo said, "I already had him and you can't even land a single hit on him?!" and he punched Suigetsu, who landed on Sasuke. Sasuke finally got up and lifted Suigetsu up and slammed him back on the floor. He turned around and was then punched straight in the face and landed with a thud by Juugo who got pounced on by Suigetsu…

Yep… he definitely loved the part where they'd throw in punches in each other's faces and end up getting sore all over their body. Suigetsu was now having Juugo in a headlock, and Sasuke threw a punch to Suigetsu and then kicked Juugo in the gut. Juugo got a hold of his leg and then slammed him to the ground, which ended up getting tripped by Sasuke and landed on his back. Suigetsu then pulled Sasuke up and punched him down but got pulled down when Juugo grabbed his leg and pulled him…

Just as Sasuke had gotten up, Suigetsu was slammed into him again and he got punched by Suigetsu. He then punched Suigetsu and then pushed himself up, sending a kick towards Juugo. Suigetsu then had him in a headlock, and he bend over, slamming Suigetsu to the ground on his back… Juugo then grabbed him from behind and Sasuke could feel himself steadily lifted from the ground and they both come crashing on the ground…

"I give up!" Suigetsu exclaimed and threw both his hands up in the air, "I can't deal with this right now. You both like getting hurt but I don't." he said and puts his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. Juugo chuckled on the ground and stood up, rubbing his neck…

"Well I guess you're the loser… again." He then turned to Sasuke who was still on his knees on the ground, "You up for another round Sasuke?" and Sasuke just smirked…

"Of course I am." And he coughed, "Let me just catch my breath." He said and was clutching his left chest. He didn't know why, but every time his back would get slammed or whether he'd hit something hard against his body, his heart's pace would suddenly quicken and he'd gasp for air. Suigetsu then pulled him up and sat him on a chair…

"Dude, that mad scientist just told you not to over exert your heart too much." He said and gave him a bottle of water, "Who knows what he'll do to me if something goes wrong?" Sasuke grabbed the bottle of water and just tried to even out his breathing. He opened the cap and gulped down the water and the three of them sat beside each other drinking water with sweats running down their skin…

"How about we stop sparring for a while and then just go over some things in here to pass time?" Juugo suggested, "Besides, who knows how long I can keep my mind at ease before I start wrecking havoc all over the place?" he said and they both nodded. Juugo still had some times when he'd just lose control and start thrashing violently. One time, during his time at the fitness center, he got too excited and ended up getting sedated because he threw around dumbbells and broke some mirrors, earning him multiple cuts and bruises…

Suigetsu on the other hand was only hired to be their _'punching bag'_, or so Suigetsu describes it. Sasuke still remembers the first time the three of them were placed like this, Suigetsu had taken the worst beatings that made him end up in an ICU. Once he recovered they made sure to take things easy and be more in control next time. Sasuke could now feel his heart's pace starting to slow down back to its normal pace…

He then stood up and took a deep breath. He was well aware that they both were watching him… they both were… after all; he was the only one in this lab that died and lived. The door opened and in came Karin. She had some stethoscope with her around her neck, along with other equipment meant for checkups. She seated Sasuke first and tended to him. She put on the stethoscope and began to check his heartbeat. Both guys stood up, waiting for news of his heart…

"Alright," Karin said removing the stethoscope, "Your heartbeat seems fine enough." She then began to wrap up something around his biceps, "I'm gonna have to check your blood pressure." She pumped a little black rubber bulb a few times and then twisted something and the bar went down, "Okay, you're blood pressure's fine too." She said and fixed it up and then went on to check on Juugo. Sasuke could only swing his arms back and forth… his body was beginning to feel sore… even his jaw line.

He looked back to Juugo and saw him also finished up and Karin started to fix up her things. Just as she was leaving Suigetsu smirked at her and stood in her way…

"What?" he said, "No check up for me too?" she just rolled her eyes at him and walked past him. They all chuckled…

"Why don't you just tell her man?" Juugo asked and Suigetsu scoffed at him…

"Please, if I'd do that, then that'll mean I'm admitting defeat." He said and drank from his bottle of water, "Besides, she still has the hots for Sasuke." Suigetsu said winking at him. Sasuke only sighed at them and grabbed his towel and shirt…

"I'm gonna take a shower, you guys might wanna consider taking one too." He said and smirked at them, they both chuckled…

"Will do man." Juugo replied. Sasuke then went to the bathing area and stripped off all of his clothes and turned on the shower. The cold water hit his skin and he let out a sigh of relief. He just let the water run down his body, allowing it to just rinsed everything away for a while. He closed his eyes and bowed his head down, allowing himself to drift off…

_He was in a car again, and for some reason he was chatting animatedly to another kid in the backseat. He couldn't hear what he was saying at all and couldn't see any of their faces clearly. It was all just a blur… and then snow started falling and he was looking out the window again. However he could see something from the corner of his eye… he stared at the sight he had never realized was within his line of vision, but the guy was masked in the darkness… directly parallel to him…_

_He squinted more to get a good vision at him, but he recognized the thing that was placed in front of the black man… it was a gun… a sniper's gun. Just as he was about to tell it to the people with him, the sniper pulled the trigger, and then the car started to lose control… one of its tires was blasted suddenly and he was face to face with the headlights of an incoming vehicle. Next thing he knew he was then pulled into a hug and he heard his name from the kid hugging him… screaming his name because of worry… and then he braced himself for impact…_

Sasuke woke up and gasped for breath. He didn't realize he had drifted off to sleep again. He feels his senses were being numb by the cold water and he quickly finished washing himself up and got out of the shower. He went in front of his locker and put on his favourite dark blue shirt along with some black jeans. He decided to go and walk around the lab instead…

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Hinata, Ino and Sakura were now in the mall busy shopping for some shoes and clothes that were going to go well with Neji and TenTen's wedding. It was only a matter of weeks though before the big day, and still they have nothing to wear on that day. Hinata was busy looking around for presents though until she came across a handkerchief… she didn't know why, but somehow, she loved feeling handkerchiefs…

Maybe it was because of Sasuke…

How was Sasuke nowadays anyway? She often wondered and would always stare into space whenever she'd look at the handkerchief. She always carried it around, but she never takes it out. She washes it regularly too. She remembers the first time she smelled it and it smelt just like him. She didn't know why, but she felt the need to make it smell like how she smelled it. Her lips curl up to an unconscious smile when she remembered driving Hanabi insane when she sniffed on every fabric conditioner there was she could find until she found the perfect smell…

Oddly enough, it wasn't even a fabric conditioner, but rather a perfume… men's perfume. From time to time, she'd spray the whole handkerchief after it was washed and dry. And once the smell fades away she would spray some on it again. She would smell it from time to time, reminiscing about that day from before… and the day they met. She doesn't know what it was that possessed her, but she walked out of the shop and then brought out the handkerchief…

She stared at it for a while before bringing it up to her nose and began to smell it… she didn't notice also how long she stood outside the shop just smelling it too… but she was lost in her thoughts about Sasuke, until she felt herself being nudged in the ribs…

"Hinata!" Ino hissed, "You're supposed to be trying out dresses with us and not sniffing some handkerchief!" she took Hinata's wrists and dragged her inside, where Sakura was waiting along with some clothes picked out for her to try on…

"You're going to have to try all of these outfits until we are satisfied." Ino said and pulled the hanky from her grasps and replaced it with the dresses and shoved her in the dressing room. Hinata felt as though she was incomplete the moment Ino snatched it from her hands. She tried to go out but stopped at the door of the dressing room. She knew it was pathetic, but somehow, that article of clothing was always so precious for her. She shook her head and decided to just try out the dresses picked out for her…

Ino and Sakura were waiting outside the dressing room until Ino stood up and handed Sakura the hanky…

"I'm going to scout for some other clothes Hinata might look good on." She said and left Sakura outside with the white plain handkerchief. Sakura sighed and rested her head on her right hand where the hanky was. She sniffed a bit and caught scent of something masculine. She looked around to see if there was any male, but no one around seemed to be one. She rested her head back to her hand and smelled it once more. She took another sniff and realized it was coming from the little piece of clothing in her hand… Hinata's handkerchief…

She sniffed it more, and she felt a nostalgic feeling… as if she had smelled it before. She then began to unfold the hanky bit by bit; until it finally dawned on her once the whole handkerchief was unfolded…

_Sasuke…_

She didn't need confirmation… it was there… stitched in the corner. It was quite little, and easily overlooked yet she spotted it nonetheless…

The dressing room opened and Sakura hurriedly folded it back and tried to act as if she didn't notice anything. Hinata stepped out just in time for Ino to return with a few more dresses. Ino and Sakura looked at each other, and then back at Hinata…

"Nah." They chorused and shoved her back in the dressing room to try out the different outfits. All the time, Sakura could only think about the handkerchief in her hands, and why Hinata has it. When did she have it? Had she recently seen Sasuke? If so why didn't she tell them? Why did she keep this a secret? Had this been part of the investigation too? Or did Sasuke readily give it to her? They were finally done with the dresses and they had shopping bags in their hands. Both girls dropped Ino off first before going to their respective rooms…

When they reached Hinata's room, that's when she only remembered it…

"Ah," Hinata said and suddenly looked worried, "I forgot to get the hanky Ino got from me." She was about to go back when Sakura called out…

"You mean this?" she held it out and Hinata's eyes beamed in delight…

"Thank you Sakura." She said and took it gently and then sniffing it for a long time, the shopping bags forgotten. Sakura smiled at how cute Hinata looked like while smelling Sasuke's handkerchief…

"Hinata," she called out, and Hinata pocketed the hanky back, "Where did you get that?" Hinata blushed faintly and then looked down…

"Ah, it-it's from Sa-Sasuke-kun." She stuttered

"When?"

"On his 16th birthday." She replied still looking down, and Sakura could feel a rush of jealousy swell up inside her. She knew that Sasuke could fairly do whatever he likes whenever to whomever it is, but what was it about Hinata that made her so special in his eyes anyway? She tried to shake the feeling away, but she needed to know…

"Why?" she finally ask, her fists clenching…

"I, um, I was, uh, crying." She said, refusing to look up at her. Sakura tilt her head in confusion, why was Hinata crying on Sasuke's birthday? She straightened up and her balled fists loosen up from her grip…

"Why were you crying Hinata?" she asked in a soft voice…she needed confirmation…she had to know why Hinata was crying because she knew exactly what happened that day… how could she forget? Sasuke's birthday is their anniversary… it was the day she and Naruto officially became a couple…

Hinata was contemplating whether to tell her or not, until she felt Sakura grab her wrists. She looked up and saw guilt in Sakura's eyes, and she knew Sakura needed some closure… they both do actually, and once she's done explaining, hopefully their relationship with each other won't be strained…

"I saw you," she started, and she felt Sakura tense up, "I saw you and Naruto together." She said in a soft voice, and her mind flashed back to the time where Naruto gave Sakura a quick peck on the cheeks. No one else had been looking… she was the only one that saw it… she was the only that paid attention… she was the only one who was bothered. Sakura clamped her hands around Hinata's and they both stared into each other's eye…

Emerald meets ivory…

Guilt meets forgiveness…

"I'm so sorry." Sakura said in a whisper, "I'm really sorry… please forgive me." She said and she could feel in her eyes that she was already close to crying. Hinata smiled softly at her and cupped her cheek and then pulled her into a hug…

"Wanna continue this inside?" Hinata asked softly at her and she nodded. Hinata unlocked her door and led her inside. They both sat on the couch and Hinata gave Sakura a glass of water, "Sakura-"

"I'm really sorry Hinata," Sakura interrupted, "I've tried so many times to say sorry to you, but I just couldn't… I wasn't ready to see how you'd react and I got scared and-"

"Shh," Hinata said, "Shh, don't speak now Sakura; I forgave you a long time ago… even before you asked for it." She said and smiled brightly at her. Sakura smiled back at Hinata and pulled her into a tight hug… they both pulled away and then giggled at each other. Hinata handed over Sasuke's handkerchief at her…

"Here," Hinata said, "You keep it… you need it more than I do." Hinata said and Sakura took it reluctantly…

"Demo Hinata,-"

"Ie," she interrupted, "Sasuke would've done the same thing had you been crying." She replied, and Sakura's eyes soften…

"This was how he saw you didn't he?" Hinata blushed and nodded, "How was he?"

"He was fine and… sweet." Hinata said and her blush darkened, Sakura eyed her knowingly…

"And exactly how _sweet _was he?" Hinata blushed all the more at Sakura's teasing and Sakura could only chuckle, "I'm just kidding Hinata… but seriously, in what way was he sweet?"

"Well," Hinata started to fidget, "He was already crouching in front of me when I looked up from my crouching position, and he then started to wipe away my tears and asked me why I was crying." She said and reminisced on the feel of Sasuke's thumb running across her cheeks….

"Aw," Sakura said, "How sweet, bet if I saw it I'd be squealing at the top of my lungs!" Sakura said and giggled, "And then?"

"He, well, introduced himself and just kept on asking why I was crying and I finally told him."

"What did he say?" Sakura asked all excited, she felt like a five-year-old again hearing about her favourite fairytale…

"He asked me if I wanted to see the sunset with him… that's when he gave me the handkerchief."

"How did he give it to you?"

"He said _'Here… you need it more than I do' _and I sort of refused but he held my hand and clamped it around the hanky." Sakura looked at the handkerchief…

"Do you want it back?" she held it out again to Hinata, but she just shook her head and repeated what Sasuke had told here…

"You need it more than I do." Sakura smiled and giggled at Hinata…

"Why did he want to see the sunset with you?" she asked in a sing-song voice and Hinata could feel herself blush again…

"Well, he started to give me some quotes from a children's book." Hinata replied, "If I remember it correctly, it goes like this: _one enjoys sunsets when they are sad _while the other one was _what is essential is invisible to the eye_."

"Wow… for a children's book, those quotes sure are deep." Sakura said and drank from her water again, "What book was it anyway?"

"The little prince." Hinata said and got up and walked towards her drawer, "It has lots of other insightful quotes too." She then pulled out a black book and handed it to Sakura…

"Wow, you actually bought it?" Hinata nodded, "He got you good didn't he?" Sakura asked, and Hinata blushed the darkest shade of red she's ever seen, "You fell for him." Sakura stated with a smile, "That's why you were fine with me and Naruto together… you fell for him the moment he comforted you." It wasn't even an assumption… it was a fact. Sakura could clearly understand the look in Hinata's eyes when she was talking about Sasuke… hell; she even recognizes the way she tells something regarding Sasuke.

Hinata looked down on her lap; she sighed dejectedly and stared at the book…

"I'm pathetic aren't I?" she asked and Sakura shook her head…

"No Hinata, you aren't." Sakura said and held Hinata's chin up so they could meet eye to eye, "Because from what I can see, you have a chance to be with Sasuke if we ever meet him again… because you have done something we have never done." Hinata then looked at Sakura confusingly, "You got him to feel peace… that was something we have never been able to do, and no matter how hard we tried to make him feel like he belonged… you made him feel like he can do something good in this world again Hinata…because of you… he found a reason to live." Hinata cried and sobbed into Sakura, who only held onto her…

"So," Sakura said and smiled, "I guess this hanky really wants to go back to you then." She said and handed it back to Hinata who laughed and took it gently and began to wipe her tears, "Are you going then to the tour around Konoha hospital tomorrow then?" Sakura asked and Hinata nodded…

"Yeah I am, you?"

"Same."

"Ino?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Sakura said and winked at Hinata, "Okay, see you tomorrow. And wake up early." She reminded and Hinata laughed and waved at Sakura. The door clicked close and Hinata began to change into a spaghetti strap white blouse and into a light blue mini short and then jumped on her bed. She looked up at her ceiling and stared at the stitched _Sasuke _on the hanky. She brought it up to her nose again, and drifted off to a peaceful sleep…

Just one more time…

She wished she could see him again…

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"Sasuke-kun are you listening?" Karin asked from across the table, Sasuke's attention snapped to her and she sighed, "Orochimaru-san wants you to go to Konoha hospital tomorrow so he can do some X-ray and additional checkups on you." Sasuke rolled his eyes at her and nodded. He continued to eat his vegetables in silence. Karin said that both Juugo and Suigetsu were going to join them, however at the last minute they both had something important to do…

He could care less really in what conniving ways Karin would do just to make sure he ended up with her alone, because he doesn't really care anymore. Not when he wasn't even sure what was happening in the outside world aside from the news from time to time on the television. Was this what it felt like to be in prison? What did he ever do to deserve this life anyway? So what if he was going to Konoha hospital tomorrow? It's not like anything happened today…

He looked back at the television and could see that there were always lots of people dying every single day. He often wondered if any of them was ever related to her… to Hinata. She seemed to never been on the news anyway aside from a Hyuga Hiashi, and a Hyuga Neji. They both have white eyes… but none of them held quite the same eyes as Hinata… they both were stern and cold… Hinata's was soft and kind…

"_Sooner or later, the cruelty of the outside world will catch up to them… and before you know it, they won't be the same." _

Orochimaru's words rang through his head again, and he quickly imagined Hinata just like the other two…

No… he refuses to believe she could be like that… then again, he refuses to believe he was that smiling little toddler in the photo frame either… so maybe there is a possibility it can happen to her… question is… did it already happen? Sometimes he just wishes to see her once more…

Just to see that smile…

Just to confirm that there's still hope for him…

Just one more time…

He needed to see her…

He needed to see Hyuga Hinata one more time…

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**AN: **alright guys! They are already 21years old here… I repeat 21 years old. So now, all the past is done and now the actual story begins. Just try to imagine now what complications would be had this been the first chapter… confusing right? The past really has a lot of catching up to do… so what do you guys think so far? Is it okay? Are you satisfied? Well, I won't keep you guys waiting for so long anyway so… here we are to my regular credits…

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_DageRee, Saki-Hime, Psychotic Sky, YamiHinata _

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_YamiHinata_

**And once again… no new people added it to their favourites… but… I can live with that… as long as someone review and adds to their story alerts…**

**Thank you guys! :***


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **okay, so as soon as I was done writing the sixth chapter of "Complications" I directly started to write this one. hope you guys don't mind at all because I have a schedule to follow and school is coming up around the corner so I have very little time to be free and write chapters… also don't forget that "Mixed-up" is now not… I repeat NOT on hiatus anymore… so before I forget…

A little warning though… this might be a bit short… sorry if it took too long to update…

I don't own Naruto or any of its characters…

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_**~Chapter 7: Fated Meeting~**_

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Hinata groggily woke up after a very peaceful sleep last night. She really didn't want to inconvenience Sakura or Ino by having to wake her up for their little tour around the Konoha hospital today. She just really wants to go back to sleep and continue her dream. However, she knew it would be impossible to do that anymore since she was now currently underneath the ice cold freezing water oozing out of her shower head.

She shivered at the contact of her skin and adjusted the temperature. Once she was fully satisfied she moaned in pleasure. Once she was done showering she grabbed the towel and dried herself and ruffled her long dark locks of hair and then proceeded to grab something to eat before she even got dressed. Afterwards she brushed her teeth and began to dress up. She fixed her things and made sure she had everything she needed today. Her pass, ID, wallet and cell phone...

Not a few minutes later, there was some loud knocking on her door…

"Hinata are you up yet?" she could hear from the other side, "Hinata?" she could only smile and walked quietly towards her door and pressed her ear against it…

"I don't think she's up yet." She could hear Ino mumble…

"You know we're going to have to knock her door down, she probably isn't awake now anyway." Sakura mumbled back…

"Yeah, she's such a heavy sleeper. On three?"

"Yeah."

"One-"

"Two-"

"Three!" and at exactly that time, Hinata opened the door and ended up with both of the girls landing on the floor with loud 'oof's. Hinata giggled so hard that she had to hold her stomach and keep her voice down to not wake up the other tenants. Both girls abruptly stood up and dusted off their clothes. They took a peek outside the hall, and sighed in relief when no one was around. They closed the door and gave knowing looks to each other and then back at Hinata…

Hinata sensed the sudden change of atmosphere and saw both Ino and Sakura exchange glances… she gulped, knowing she wouldn't like what was going to happen. She slowly back away from them. Both girls straightened up and coolly walked towards her…

"Ano… I'm really sorry… I didn't mean to really." She said pouting at them, "Really… please." She pleaded and they both smirked deviously…

"We know Hi-na-ta." Ino said coyly, "But don't think we'll let you go easily."

"Yeah Hina-chan," Sakura said and place her hands on her hips, "It's payback time." Sakura then winked at Ino and they both lounge onto Hinata and tackled her with lots of tickling. Hinata kept on laughing and was having trouble keeping it down because it tickled her so much. Tears were now forming in her eyes from laughing so much and she was slowly running out of breathe. They sensed her lack of oxygen and they decided to stop, leaving Hinata gasping for air and lying on the floor… a few moments later they both started to giggle…

"Come on guys," Hinata whined, "I'm not in the mood for laughing… again." She added, no matter how much she wanted to laugh with them, she just couldn't laugh anymore… maybe later when the ache in her stomach disappears. They all stood up and fixed themselves from the mess they made themselves…

"Okay." Sakura said after fixing her hair, "Anyone up for breakfast?"

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He woke up unpleasantly. He tried to sit up, but his muscles ached every single time he put some pressure onto it. He sighed and just decided to lie in bed for a while. As he stared at the ceiling, he couldn't help but wonder how everyone else is now… are they all alright? He sighed and turned his head to the picture frame standing beside his bed. He starts to ask himself again on why on earth did he ended up not leaving this place when he is already capable of handling his own…

Oh right… he doesn't have any real degree, can't get a job… heck, he wasn't even able to graduate from elementary, considering he was hospital schooled ever since he was twelve. He doesn't have anywhere to go, and he has no idea on what he'd rather do with his life. So why complicate it when he could just stay underneath this hospital, inside an underground lair. Perhaps he can even make a big difference just staying here rather than bother going into the cruel world once more…

Yet he just has to wonder once more…

Why was he still feeling as if he's missing out on something? Was it the fact that he has no one around other than scientists and occasionally mentally ill people? He has to ask himself if he himself isn't one yet. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. All these questions only make him confused on why he's here and not out there. What was holding him back here? Why does he have to stay here? Is he really that afraid to take a chance in life once again? Is he afraid he'll forget?

Then again…

What was in here to remember anyway? There was only nothing but experiments, if he even has the right to say… illegal ones. Who the hell even authorizes experiments on people? Who the hell allows doctors to take samples from people about their DNA and messing it up all the more? He's lucky that in this lab, he's one of a kind… he was the only one that came back from the dead right? He wonders again on why in the world did he survive an impact that was supposed to kill him anyway.

That accident…

He feels as if there's something more to it than just one busted tire…

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"Ah…" Ino sighed, as she finished her breakfast. The three of them were just taking their time in front of the local café, waiting for the clock to strike at nine o' clock since they need to go to the Konoha hospital to see what the doctors do and how they do it. Sometimes Hinata just wished that maybe she could see Sasuke suddenly one day, walking through those doors getting a check-up and all. But really, she doesn't think there something wrong with his eyesight… just his eyes… if that was even possible.

She couldn't help but recall the way blood slid down his cheek. How was that even possible? She didn't even know that he could cry blood… when did it start? How did it start? Did something happen to him when he was away? Where was he now? How is he now? She sighed and took a sip from her tea and placed it back down…

"Alright," Sakura called and clasped her hands together, "Let's get going girls, we don't wanna be late for another tour to the hospital." They both nodded and stood up and gathered their belongings. Their tour guide had always been Mitarashi Anko. She was really creepy, and wasn't squeamish. She was ready to cut through anything be it a corpse or inside an operating room. Hinata still had to get used to it though… she could stand seeing wounds, but when it comes to treating them, she still had to force herself not to look away and faint…

They were now walking towards the Konoha University's front gate, where there was a large student body stationed in front. They sighed in relief when they terror teacher was still nowhere in sight. They stationed themselves at the front so they won't get crushed by the students in the middle. The day was proving to be hot, and they were really getting agitated just by waiting. It wasn't normal for Anko to be late… there's got to be something wrong.

"Sorry I was late guys." All students quieted down as they all turned to look at who had just arrived. They all groaned in frustration. It was their criminology teacher, who had a knack for being late… Kakashi…

"Where's Anko-sensei?" Sakura asked, and Kakashi looked up from his book and shrugged…

"Who knows? She said she needed to do something in the hospital and asked me yesterday to guide you. Well, no time to lose, let's go." He said and all students groaned at Kakashi for being the reason they waited for so long. He just smiled at them through his mask. Rumours were he was asthmatic… or he just has an extremely contagious cough that's air born. His explanation to them though was that whenever solving a crime, it's nice to know you're identity is being kept secret…

But what's the point of that if you're giving your real name anyway?

They got on the bus and began to head towards the Konoha Hospital. Hinata was seated next to the window. All she could do through the rest of the ride was stare outside, wishing for some miracle to let her see _him _once more. Seated beside her was Sakura, who had been sensing the longing in Hinata's gaze. She knew what… or rather _who _she was looking for… they all were. But right now, they have to focus, and they could wander around the world looking for him.

Suddenly the bus started to slow down; indicating they finally arrived in the hospital. It turned to Hinata's side, yet she still gazed through the window longingly…

Then she saw it… a black hair with spikes only at the back of his head, until a pillar blocked her view before she could see the face. She mentally cursed when she didn't see anyone at all once they passed the pillar. She strained her neck to look at the last spot she saw the person…

Was it only a figment of her imagination?

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His day started rather stressful. His muscles were aching, he dozed off in the shower again, and now he didn't eat breakfast yet because he still has an appointment with Orochimaru. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he walked past the parking area and slipped into one of the hidden back doors where no one would see him except by the medical technicians that worked under Orochimaru. He stopped by them first and gave him some blood samples for the compatibility of his system with Juugo's strong muscles, and Kimimaro's strong bones…

Today was also the schedule where he had to donate blood to the others. He couldn't understand why he should donate, but it was supposedly for the good of all mankind as well as his cooperation with the illegal experiments held underground. He sighed at the irony of his life…

He wants to die, yet he still lives… he feels alone, yet he's surrounded by many people who take care of him… plus, he's helping a world that only gave him pain. He turned a corner and then went inside a room he was assigned to. He turned around and saw his regular doctor…

"Sasuke-kun ohayo." Kabuto beamed at him, "Please sit down." He motioned to the chair in front of his desk. Sasuke only stared at him emotionlessly and compiled to Kabuto's order, "I've been given an update already of what happened yesterday. Please remove your shirt and I'll check your heartbeat." Sasuke did as he was told and just let Kabuto check his heartbeat. He was getting extremely agitated, and he didn't know why…

Meanwhile, Kabuto listened intently at his heartbeat…

"Breath in… breath out…" he said, as standard procedure…

_Lab dub…lab dub… lab dub…_

He sighed and pulled the stethoscope away and placed it back down, "Put on your shirt." He said and Sasuke did so, he turned towards Sasuke, "Did you get slammed pretty hard in sparring session yesterday?" he asked in a matter-of-fact tone, and Sasuke shrugged…

"You know I always do." He said, not caring what the effects were…

"Sasuke-kun," Kabuto sighed and began to write down on Sasuke's profile, which he would eventually hand over to Orochimaru later on, "Your heartbeat is irregular Sasuke-kun. Apparently, instead of continuous beats, it seems to have seconds of break from beating."

"At least my heart gets to rest."

"It's not normal Sasuke-kun, sooner or later, the rests will become longer, until it just completely stops." Kabuto said and for a moment he could see lots of emotions swirling through those pitch black eyes… shock, disbelief, relief… and fear, yet it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Sasuke relaxed back to the chair and leaned in…

"Well then, what do I have to do to make it rest eternally?" he asked, and Kabuto sighed, he shouldn't have said that. He knew from the moment Sasuke was brought into the facility that he was eager to go to the other side… yet they couldn't let him… not yet. So far, he has the most amazing immune system. His wounds heal faster than the normal rate. He's immune to poison, and has the healthiest cells, plus a photographic memory, which he seemed to have developed after the incident… in other words, he was the embodiment on what they had been researching for… only problem is, no matter how hard they tried, things like these aren't perfect...

His heart wasn't normal. They got a few theories on why his heart was acting this way. One was that he came back from the dead and every few moments, his heart would just stop and restart again. Two, due to the car crash, the trigger of these irregular heartbeats were of serious impacts done to the body, apparently making every rest of the heart prolong their stop. There were times when they thought he was dead, only to figure out he had awaken just before they'd try to revive him…

"Sorry Sasuke," Kabuto said, "But right now, don't strain yourself. Avoid having huge impacts; I'm going to have to restrain you from physical fitness sessions until your heartbeats' are back to normal." He said and stood up…

"But that takes weeks!" Sasuke hissed, and Kabuto only sighed…

"In the meantime, I want you to see me here every week. And you're good to go already." He replied and Sasuke stormed out of the office making sure to slam the door. A few moments later, it was opened again by none other than Anko…

"Ah Mitarashi-san," Kabuto said smiling, "What can I do for you?"

"Here are the results of those three genes you gave me; I've already narrowed it down to some parts in the DNA of that could have a few next to no side effects in the body." She said and gave him a folder, where there was classified stamped in front, "I still need more time, please tell Orochimaru-sama I'm working on it as fast as I can." She said and Kabuto only smiled at her…

"Did you have anyone help you with this?" he asked…

"Only those that should know." She said and Kabuto nodded at her…

"You may go now." And Anko nodded her head at him and walked out of the office. He then slipped the file into his briefcase along with Sasuke's profile. Once they are sure Sasuke will be free from any bodily harm, they can now move on to the next phase of human evolution…

In the meantime, Sasuke was still fuming and was pacing inside an empty room. He knew he should proceed to the donations of blood already but still, he can't believe Kabuto would prolong his confinement in one of the rooms in the blasted underground lair where he'd be strapped down with some wires connected to monitors that was showing his heart rate and beats. He walked towards the cemented wall and punched his fist there…

And for a moment, he stopped; dead in his tracks as the impact rung through his body… his systems stopped for a moment… he stopped breathing for a moment until he regained it again gasping for air. He just stared at his fist and back at the cemented wall again and sat down on the chair, trying to regain his control. It was terrifying, knowing you're alive yet everything else in your body seemed to stop. It's like you're trapped in a dream unable to wake up and move… only this time, he's awake and aware that he can't move because his heart stopped along with his other organs that kept him alive…

He needed to calm down…

Once he did he reluctantly got up from the chair and walked out of the unoccupied room, proceeding to the final process of his visit in the hospital… merely missing the fact that he had just passed by the group of medical students watching some of the professionals do their job…

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"Okay," Kakashi said as they stopped by some offices and labs, "Those of you that already have ideas what your specializations are in the future go to your respective areas," and soon the crowd began to disperse, where only a few were left, including Hinata. Ino was already brought to the nurse's station along with others, and Sakura went to proceed to the surgeons' area. Hinata was still undecided and quite confused, "Those of you still undecided, follow me around the hospital as I explain the work of each specialization." Kakashi said and a small group of medical students followed him around.

Hinata didn't pay attention to what Kakashi had been saying at all as she was too busy looking around for confirmation if she really did see Sasuke's hair. It had been going on for hours already and they were nearing the section where they were going to undergo test where they'd be assessed if they can donate blood or not. She just slouched and sighed dejectedly as they stopped and sat down on one of the chairs and covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her frustration…

Right across them was the room where people would donate blood. Sasuke finally got up after the person assigned to him told him he was good to go. He had laid there for some time, trying to regain his strength as standard procedure since he learned after the first time. Now he was walking out of the room, testing out his sore muscles and looked around and about the hallway, when he noticed people seated on the room across his. He didn't know why he stared, but there was something amongst those seas of heads that seemed familiar…

A girl with long dark indigo hair was hunched with her hands covering her face, he didn't know why, but somehow he could start to feel his heart beating faster, it seemed like it was going back to it normal pace until suddenly a nurse came out and called out a name…

"Hyuga Hinata." And the hunched figure looked up and stood up and walked inside disappearing along with a few other people called in afterwards. Sasuke could feel his lips twitching upwards at the sight of her even though she didn't see him no matter how close he was to her, and all she had to do was look up. He checked the wall clock and saw he still had time to wander off in the hospital. And he figured out there was no rush for him to get out of here…

He'll wait for her because she's worth it…

He then proceeded to another empty room and started to calm down his abnormal heart because he started to feel his lungs gasp for air. His organs started to move slower, yet his heart beat faster by the second and he had to sit back again and calm his heart down or else he might just collapse in the middle of the hallway. He looked around for some empty rooms and burst inside, a few seconds Sakura and Ino along with the rest of the medical students began to pile in the hallway awaiting for their turn…

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_**A few moments later**_

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"No fair Hina-chan," Ino whined, "Why did you have to get to donate blood first?" Ino said as she sat down still feeling weak from the loss of blood, Hinata only smiled and waved at the both of them heading out of the room. As she rounded the corner, a door suddenly swung open and she bumped into the person who seemed to be in a hurry to get out…

"Ow." She said and touched her head and was met by a hand clutching the left chest of the person while she was held close to him. She stared up and was shocked to see those obsidian black orbs that haunt her dreams on a regular basis, she gulped and stuttered…

"Sa-Sasuke-kun," she said blushing as she noticed just how close they are, "I… I'm sorry I didn't see you." She said but then noticed the way he was trying to move. For a moment, she felt his body grow stiff until he started to gasp…

"Hi… Hinata." He said in between his breath, and she looked at him in concern and started to search for the nearest stall. She grabbed his hand gently and sat him down as he tried to regain his breathing. On the other hand, Sasuke was cursing himself on why the hell did he have to bump into Hinata right after he calmed his abnormal heart. Once more his body went dead by the impact, and he was lucky it lasted shorter than before… however he was glad he caught up to her before she left because he feared during the time he was calming down she had already left…

"Hinata," he called out and she rubbed his back up and down soothingly, "I'm sorry about that too." He said as he felt himself slowly going back to normal bodily functions. He turned to look at her beautiful pale orbs and somehow disregarded the fact that their faces were close to each other and that there were already too many passerby watching them oddly. Hinata smiled at him, glad that he was finally okay and straightened up…

"Let's go to the mini canteen for a while Sasuke-kun, you might need to eat." She said, "Have you eaten yet? You seem rather pale though." She asked, concern heard through her tone and eyes as her hand checked if he has a fever or something. He only smiled at her and grasped her small hands in his and brought it down to his lips kissing it gently…

"I'm fine hime, but if you want then we can sit there and talk." He said and stared into her eyes, and noticed that her blush was becoming darker. She hadn't changed… not one bit… she was still kind… caring… and beautiful… but she was no longer a girl… the Hinata standing in front of him now was a woman, and he thanked all the gods above for this wonderful moment, where he finally saw her again after what seemed like years of loneliness…

Hinata had to stop herself from fainting as Sasuke let go of her hands and gestured for her to walk beside him. They walked side by side, shoulders brushing each other, and Hinata had to secretly pinch herself to make sure she indeed wasn't dreaming. Sasuke though noticed the constant pinching…

"Why do you do that?" he asked, and Hinata looked up at him…

"Hm?" she said as she bit her upper lip, with eyebrows raised at him, Kami she was so cute…

"The pinching… why do you do that?" he asked gesturing to the light pink marks on her ivory skin…

"O-oh," she stuttered, "We-well I was only trying to keep myself awake since I slept late last night and had to get up early today." She said smiling at him sheepishly. She didn't want him to know that she was pinching herself because she wants to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She was mentally going hysterical, despite of her calm bravado. She was having so many thoughts inside, that she could feel herself slowly drifting off to fantasy land…

Sasuke kept his eyes on her the whole walk through, he still didn't believe his luck that he managed to see her after all these years. He didn't know why she was in the hospital in the first place anyway, but maybe he'd ask her later. Right now, he was just too happy that she's here… with him.

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**AN: **told you it was short, but don't worry, I'm updating out of schedule because this is way behind deadline along with other stuffs so… here you go. Please bear with me and sorry for the late updates. I seriously was too busy reading many other fanfics with other pairings. Really sorry… so here I am, back from the lazy department, and now I am fully hyped up, considering my Samsung tab just shut down on me and is still not turning back on, so I'm ignoring it. And my update credits… and special thanks to the following…

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_Saki-Hime, YamiHinata _

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_wwwHistorychannel .Hetalia_

**To those that added it to their favourites :D**

**Thank you guys! :***


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **okay, so here's another chapter of "Complications" and I'm going to work on this as fast as I can, because my schedule is hysterical… I can barely keep up anymore! Anyway, school's just around the corner and I am prepping up with deadlines and all, so I'm warming up right now… and like I said, this chapter is long overdue already. This won't be focused on Hinata and Sasuke though; this will focus on with the other characters already, more particularly the elders, Naruto and Leaf Inc.

And once again…

I don't own Naruto or any of its characters…

* * *

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_**~Chapter 8: Leaf Inc.~**_

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He mentally groaned as he looked around the room and saw large stacks of folders left and right, and almost consuming every space on his desk. Sure he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, but everyone that knows who he really is should have warned him of the impending danger he is now undergoing from. He banged his head on the desk and groaned. Why oh why did he have to do this all alone? He grudgingly looked up again and was only met with folders with heaps and heaps of paperwork…

He sighed and straightened up. If his father survived this, then so could he. He once again took another folder and began reading it, looking at the latest business permits given to him. He was only supposed to just help with the paper work, but then something came up with this person… what was his name again? Oh, yes, Danzo… he was supposed to teach him how to deal with this stuff, only to see that he got some important business to attend to and left him with the guidance of two of the oldest people he knew…

They were not much of a help since they only told him what to do and what not to do. And after that, they have to go back home since they were already getting tired. And now… he was left alone. Until of course, the door opened and revealed someone he hadn't seen in a long time…

"Neji!" he beamed and landed before him, he didn't care how ridiculous he'd look, just as long as he was rescued from this punishment, "Help me get out of here! This is worse than detention!" he pleaded, and Neji only chuckled at him. He raised his hand to reveal he has another folder that needed his permission. Naruto looked at the folder and back to Neji before he groaned at the additional work load.

"Come on Naruto, I thought your way of life was to never give up?" Neji asked him, smirk gracing his lips, while Naruto pouted and narrowed his eyes at him…

"I hate you." He muttered and went back to the desk, "Why the hell is there a mountain of paperwork here?!" Neji scoffed…

"You should see my office." He replied and Naruto jaw dropped, "No actually, you should see the office of Medical and Science department." He said and then contemplated whether or not to really just drop the folder to the additional stock load on Naruto's desk. He sighed and held onto it, "I'll hold on to this until Danzo-sama gets back, I'm not sure you're up to police work yet." He said and Naruto nodded in agreement…

"Yep, those old croons just told me what to do in the Arts and Business department first, seeing as this is my first time in fieldwork, they decided to give me the ones with little classification and those that needed review." He said, and looked at the pile he had finished, "So far, the paperwork is lessening but my headaches are getting worse by each time I read." Neji looked at Naruto and chuckled…

"Have you taken a break yet?" Naruto shook his head as he proceeded to read the folder he had opened and began to scan everything. Neji then left the office, leaving Naruto alone for now, minutes later though, Neji returned with a cup of coffee, a doughnut and some pills for headache. Naruto stared at the treat before him and back at Neji…

"Doughnuts? Really? I'm not a cop Neji!" he said, placing hands on his hips and Neji glared at him…

"Well, you're welcome too and I'm grateful there was no ramen on the menu today." Naruto sighed and beamed back at Neji…

"Arigatou! I knew you weren't as heartless as I thought!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Neji said glaring and Naruto just kept smiling. Neji only sighed, "Alright, I gotta get back to work now. Ja!" he called out and exited the office. He closed the door quietly and proceeded to the conference meeting they were going to have. His uncle was supposed to be working on it, but since he was nearing retirement already, he figured out that Neji should start handling these things already. He took a deep breath and opened the door. It was a small space since there were only a few representatives needed for them to meet. He took a seat in the middle and looked at the two people in front of him…

Rock Lee, he was an overly energetic and optimistic guy, considering his past medical issues. He took charge in training the new people that wanted to have a shot in working under this department and can get serious when needed. He was a great police that can chase after fugitives faster than the rest, even if the escaped ones did have a really good head start. He knew where they would make stops and how to stall them, which was why he was perfect for training the new recruits…

On the other side, was someone not really looking like they were purely Japanese though; TenTen had dropped her last name since her father disowned her by not agreeing to marry a well-off Chinese rich guy to save them. In her defence she wanted to see her mother's hometown, which they visited every summer. She had a knack of making weapons and knows exactly what they are capable of and what kinds they are, they don't even need to use a computer. She also was one heck of a sniper back then, and was called in a lot for some hostage taking and whatnot… and just for the sake of mentioning, she was a soon-to-be Hyuga…

"Reports?" he asked them and Lee stood up and saluted him…

"Sir Yes, sir! The new batch of recruits seem to have improved already and are all ready to work on the field sir," Neji nodded at him and he continued but in a hushed tone, "However that file you gave me about the Uchiha massacre along with the murder and deaths of the Lady Hyuga and Hizashi, I'm afraid we still have no luck sir." Neji turned to look at TenTen, and she nodded at her fiancé…

"We already started with digging more onto some of the systems and hacking into the security, but they've got these new types everywhere and files all over with unassuming names are lined up everywhere. Every single time we come close to something, we only figure out there's a lot more ground we need to cover." She finished and Neji nodded at the both of them.

"Very well, I trust that this is kept top secret?" he asked and they both nodded, "Good. Off you go." They both stood up and went to their respective departments. Neji sighed and went to proceed to his office, where he took out his laptop and typed in his password and opened up his e-mail where he opened the new reports secretly sent to him by Lee and some of his trusted people. There was just so much mystery surrounding the case of the Uchiha car crash. The death of his aunt and father were just too suspicious, and what's more? None of the murderers seemed to have emerged, like someone was helping them escape…

He needed to think out of the box and look further into details. There's just something he couldn't seem to have a grasp on. The case of the trial of the Uchiha was closed the moment they knew Sasuke couldn't remember anything at all, despite of the bullet they found in the tire. The explanation was that it could have come from Fugaku's pistol, but it seen that no residue gunpowder was recovered from it. This was just too messed up…

And it's taking a lot of his time than the preparations for his wedding…

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Orochimaru had just gotten the report on Sasuke's check-up a while ago and he immediately started to prepare Sasuke's confinement room, where they'd have to observe him until his heartbeat is back to normal. It was important that in days like these that they keep Sasuke completely impact-free. It was one of the possible theories they had of his heart condition. Why else would his heart start to shut down by immediate shocks?

Sasuke wasn't much of a trouble. He obeyed everything they said he'd do, and was completely aware of what they had been doing. Of course, Sasuke refused to say what he really thinks and feels, but it was fine for Orochimaru as long as he gets to do what he wants with Sasuke's body. He opened the file and wasn't surprised anymore. He knew Sasuke's heart had been skipping a beat ever since that tragic car crash that left him alone in this world and that was what made things more complicated.

True enough, he does experiment on some of the workers he hired, though it was only in secret. The only one that really knew about these silent experiments was Kabuto… not even Karin knew of this, but soon enough, he'd let her in on their little secret. Besides, he was legally Karin's guardian ever since her mother died. Oh that tragic scene. Karin was there, and quite frankly, he thinks she had never been the same anymore. Well, at least she was loyal to him, she holds a great deal of respect for him, which was why he wanted to make sure she won't get upset by going behind her back.

The phone suddenly rang and he groaned and answered it immediately…

"This is Oro Laboratory… how can I help you?" he hissed through the mouthpiece, and the person from the other line chuckled…

"_Ah, Orochimaru… it's always good to hear from you." _Orochimaru just rolled his eyes, besides; he can't see what he does anyway. He sat back down and continued to listen, _"How's it going through your end?"_

"Depends on what _end _you are referring to."

"_Fair enough… alright, I'll be more specific. How's it going with your __**prized **__possession?"_

"Ah," Orochimaru said, smirking, "Everything's going fine; I just have new reports about _it _filed in just now."

"_Oh? What is it?"_

"Something beyond your own mind's capacity and understanding." He retorted, he really doesn't want to talk about his experiments, especially on the phone. For all he knows, the lines could be tapped into. The person chuckled at his response...

"_Alright, fair enough. I'll be calling from time to time. Don't lose it." _And the person hung up. Orochimaru just eyed the phone and rolled his eyes, putting it back down and began to read the file. He then moved on to his own laboratory and started making something. He took out something from the freezer, with some frozen samples. He carefully placed them under the microscope and began to look through some files of the people in the lab right now. He wasn't going to test it on Sasuke yet though. One single mistake could kill him. Sasuke may not look like it, but he is fragile… _very _fragile, and he'd hate to see it broken…

He looks at the clock. It was almost evening. He then dialled on the phone, after a few rings, it was picked up…

"_Moshimoshi, how can we be of service?"_

"Is the raven inside the cage already?" he asked, and heard a bit of shuffling inside…

"_Ie Orochimaru-sama."_

"Where is he?"

"_Ah… he's at the canteen, talking to some girl." _Orochimaru tilted his head, why was Sasuke talking to some girl?

"Do you know this _girl_?"

"_Um, ie, demo I can tell which lineage she's from."_

"Oh… pray do tell what her lineage is?"

"_Hyuga… she's got their eyes." _Orochimaru now was clearly interested. It wasn't every day that he saw a Hyuga go into Konoha hospital. They rarely go there, just like Sasuke, but of course, he was a different case. Why was Sasuke talking to her anyway? He tried to think for further more clues why, but so far, he wasn't recalling any. He sighed. Damn his old age, he was becoming cynical. Maybe he should start on experimenting with Sasuke's mind since he seems to remember things exactly as he remembers it…

"Arigatou, Ja." He said and hung up. He sat down and tapped his fingers across the desk; maybe Kabuto has some clue…

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He was busy with his patients all day and has already gotten the samples Orochimaru had requested. He needs to hurry back so that they could start observing Sasuke's heart condition once more. As he was reading their previous findings and reports about Sasuke, the phone suddenly rang and he placed the file down in front of him and answered the phone…

"Yakushi Kabuto speaking." He answered still reading the file…

"_Kabuto." _Orochimaru hissed from the other line, and Kabuto straightened up, _"Can I ask you something?"_

"Hai Orochimaru-sama, what is it?"

"_When were the times we let Sasuke explore the outside world again?"_

"Ano… the day after we got him… his monthly check-up, and… oh, his sixteenth birthday." He replied, confused why he was being asked of this…

"_Did he meet anyone at all, even in just one of those times?" _Kabuto thought for a moment, recalling something. He was mostly in charge of looking after Sasuke, but when he got called for something, it was Karin that watched him…

"I'm pretty sure he said goodbye to his friends one time…oh, and that Hyuga girl on his sixteenth birthday." He exclaimed, recalling the same girl he saw with Sasuke twice…

"_Hyuga… girl?"_

"Hai, he seems to be pretty fond of her." he shared nonchalantly…

"_Care to elaborate on that Kabuto?"_

"Uh, I spotted her with him twice. First was the day we got him, second was in the park on his sixteenth birthday." He explained. He could hear Orochimaru's finger tapping against his desk, trying to think of something, until he heard Orochimaru speak up once more…

"_Wasn't Karin with you?"_

"Hai, if you don't mind me asking but, why the sudden interest on his little outdoor quests?"

"_You know very well why. He's hard enough to convince to stay when he wants to die, I don't want another reason for him to go."_

"Even if that means he'll want to live? I think this is a perfect opportunity for us."

"_Sigh… I'll see you later. In the meantime, check up on Sasuke will you?"_

"I thought he's back?"

"_Ie… he's with that Hyuga girl… again. Do try and see if it's the same one though. She may be trouble… especially if she has direct contact with the Hyuga in control in the Leaf Inc."_

"What was his name again?"

"_Hyuga… Neji." _And with that Orochimaru hung up. It was now Kabuto's turn to tap his fingers on the desk, contemplating his next move. As much as he'd hate to admit, but he admires Orochimaru's tactics when it comes to hiding his experiments and he knew what to do to keep them hidden. He needs to learn from the best after all if he was to take over. Who knows, maybe he'll be the one to improve Orochimaru's experiments and then get famous for something he's only done halfway to the finish line.

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He knew something was up with the Security and Police Department, but he just couldn't tell what. He had to admit though, ever since the Hyuga's took that department to their control, everything was tightened and improved. They trained their recruits and made sure they passed every bit of test they were given and were training as if they are on field. It was quite harsh of course, but he liked the strictness because he was of course strict himself…

However, there had been certain meetings in the department, and only a limited amount of people were involved. He couldn't go and investigate on his own without bringing too much attention to himself. Everyone was very loyal to the new head of the department. He was the nephew of the previous head of course, but what he didn't get was why on earth did Hiashi let his nephew instead of his eldest child take over? He was going to admit, he never met the man's offspring. He only knew he was married once and had two kids, other than that, he never tried to involve himself with the workers' families…

He sighed and checked back on his phone call to Orochimaru a while ago. So far, Sasuke hasn't been showing any signs he remembers what happened in the car accident. As much as he'd like to sympathize with the young man, he couldn't. He barely knows the guy, but he knew that they were always up to no good. It ran in their blood, and he only did to them what his ancestors should have done before… eliminate them from the face of the earth. And now, only one remains…

He sighed in content and then dialled on his private phone, where he is sure no one would ever tap into. It rang a few times until it was picked up by a female. He raised his eyebrows…

"_Ohayo gozaimasu, what can we do to help you?"_

"I think the clouds seem red today, don't you think?" he asked, it was a secret code for them really. They'll know you mean business once this is said, but apparently if you don't say this the moment they answer, they'd know you're a stranger, or something is wrong. He heard the lady call out to someone and some shuffling until the other line answered once more, but this time, it was a male…

"_I didn't know anyone still requires our services." _Danzo just chuckled…

"I just wanted to make sure no one was bothering you."

"_Oh? How thoughtful. Is there something more you'd like us to do for you?"_

"As a matter of fact… yes, I think I do have something I want you to do for me?"

"_And what is it?"_

"I just wanted to know if Zetsu is still up and about."

"_I see," _the person on the other line said, _"You know he can be quite troublesome, he's unstable."_

"Is he still capable to work though?" he asked, quite concerned. It's a shame really; Zetsu seemed to always work so flawlessly…

"_Of course he is… he's just troublesome because there nothing for him to do. We've been laid back for some time you know."_

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"_Danzo… really? We go way back… are you seriously doubting your trust in me now?"_

"It's hard to say when I can see your face you know. Who knows, maybe your lying right now, and only you can tell."

"_Haha… he'll meet you there within four days. Is there something he needs to bring?"_

"Just all the things necessary for infiltration. That's all."

"_Ja ne… it's a pleasure doing business with you."_

"And you." With that, the phone hung up and Danzo was left to himself once more. He was still not entirely convinced that things were looking up. There was a reason he let the Oro Lab take care of Sasuke. He knew they'd be useful to him, and Orochimaru could use a body or two. He was of course, expecting Orochimaru to just look at the boy like a usual experiment, however he underestimated his value and worth to the medical field. He apparently was their star, and pride… only problem was, he wanted Sasuke dead…

And if what they say was really true, then he too was on Sasuke's side. Just let him go and every bloody thing would be alright. Well at least he doesn't have to worry about him anymore…

Or so he thought…

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The four of them had been sitting across each other awkwardly for the past hour or so. None of them knew how to strike up a conversation, and Sasuke really didn't know how to socialize that well, since all his life his company was only doctors and scientists and such. Damn, all he wanted was for some alone time with Hinata, and it was going well until she pleaded with him to stay and meet _again _some people he left before he was turned into a guinea pig in the Oro Lab… of course, that part he kept to himself. He even had to lie about some parts, where he was taught to say in case anyone asked.

"So…" Ino said, tapping her thumb against her clenched knuckles, "What now? We're obviously awkward with Sasuke-kun around right now." Ino said as a matter of fact. And they all sighed. Now Sasuke could literally feel his heart skip a beat… not that it wasn't in the first place. He left that part out too. He told Hinata his eye was good and was now fine and won't bleed. And right now, he was mentally agreeing to Ino that this indeed was awkward…

Not that he'd admit it out loud…

"So," he started, breaking the awkwardness, "You and Kiba huh?" she nodded at him in response, "How'd that happen?" she shrugged at him…

"I don't really know… we just, kind of clicked." She replied and took a sip from her drink. Sakura was still staring at Sasuke of course, and it was unnerving Sasuke. He thought that she and Naruto were already together. So why was she looking at him like he was a dream come true? Maybe it was because she hadn't seen him in a long time… yeah, that was probably it. He stared at Hinata from the corner of his eye, and she saw she had a tinge of pink on her cheeks, and was already fidgeting underneath the table…

Sakura on the other hand was still unable to speak out her mind. She still couldn't believe that Sasuke was here! Her heart was bursting into happiness and now she was really confused. She knew she wanted to see Sasuke once more, but this was just all too sudden! He was here… right in front of her and she wasn't speaking! She was panicking despite her calm demeanour. He was so much handsome now, and he was still lean, and his muscles… oh he clearly had been working out alright. And his skin… it was whiter than hers… it was like he hadn't seen the light of the sun all these years!

If only she knew…

Just then, as if rescuing Sasuke from his own predicament, Kabuto passed by, and spotted Sasuke along with three girls. The Hyuga he recognized, but the other two, he was just plain clueless. He knew Sasuke had the looks but he didn't know he could go on a date with three stunning ladies. He chuckled as he walked in…

"My, my Sasuke, slow down. You always seem like you're in such a hurry." He commented and Sasuke gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down…

"Like hell do I need to slow down for?"

"Oh I don't know… one date at a time?" he asked and the three girls blushed…

"Oh no, we're not his date… just Hinata. Besides we're both dating someone." The girl with blonde hair replied and Kabuto nodded…

"Oh well, come on Sasuke. Let me give you a ride." Sakura finally snapped out of her daze and stared at Sasuke…

"You don't have a ride?" she asked, speaking for the first time to Sasuke, and he stared at her emerald orbs, he shrugged in reply and heaved a sigh. First of all, he is _thankful _to Kabuto for breaking the awkward air, but he didn't want to go away yet. He just have so much more things he wanted to ask of from Hinata but these three people just had to show up! He cursed mentally and reluctantly stood up…

"Yeah, well, I usually walk." He said and went for the door, "It's nice to see you guys again though," he said and locked eyes with Hinata, "Ja ne hime." He said and walked away. Hinata just blushed at the nickname he so openly used in front of both Ino and Sakura who just smirked deviously at her…

"Okay spill it!" Ino squealed, but that was the last thing Sasuke heard for they finally reached the exit and they made their way underground. Kabuto just stared at Sasuke's back and tried to really read him. Sasuke had always been difficult to understand, but right now, he could sense he was deeply troubled…

"Something wrong Sasuke-kun?" he asked, and Sasuke shot him a glared and grunted. He sighed at the stubborn male, "Forget about today Sasuke, nothing is going to change. Just like what Orochimaru said… the cruelty of this world will catch up to them. It probably already happened, they're just hiding it really well." Kabuto said and passed him, "Come on, we have to get you back to Orochimaru-sama. He's probably worried about you right now."

"I'm going to be strapped again, aren't I?" he asked nonchalantly and Kabuto shrugged…

"Depends on your behaviour Sasuke-kun… stop fighting us… we're only here to help."

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**AN: **okay… I know I said that this won't have any focus on Sasuke or Hinata… but this is just too much. I can't stand not involving them in a chapter… so sorry for the false warning. And this chapter is also behind schedule so I apologize. Thank you for your patience and I'm updating as fast as I can… so in the meantime…

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_YamiHinata, Saki-Hime_

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_Jin NyLLe, MusicIsMyLife6789, Red-Hot Habanero_

**And no one new has added it to their favourites yet so…**

**Thank you guys! :***


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **okay… this chapter is also a bit overdue, but do bear with me people, this is the ninth chapter of complications, and school is nearing and as far as vacation is concerned, this is my last week of vacation so I'm not sure if I can update faster, so maybe chapters will be updated later than expected and might be crappy or whatever sine of the pressure and all. So before I forget…

I don't own Naruto or any of its characters…

Chapter four of "The Job" has been edited and posted already…

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_**~Chapter 9: Room of thoughts~**_

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As soon as he had arrived in the lab, the doctors crowded him and checked all of his vital signs before he was led into a room filled with monitors with tubes connected to them. He just went with the flow and could see that Orochimaru was sitting on the other side of the room, carefully observing him. He could feel himself being stripped and wires being attached to him. He was then handed a hospital gown and was laid down on the bed in the middle of the monitors…

Cameras surrounded the area, and all he could do was stare up at the ceiling right above him…

He had just seen her… and she was beautiful and kind and caring just as he remembered her. That was all he could think about. The people around him started scribbling down everything and he could care less what it was they were taking note of, in fact during times like these all he could do was think about other stuffs and just ignore them. All they want was to keep him healthy for their studies and experiments…

No one here truly cares for him… or at least not genuinely care, but he felt it with Hinata. She remembered him, and here he thought she'd forget him due to his five-year-long disappearance. He noticed that the busy room was now almost empty, and the light was still on and he was still lying down there in the middle of the room, expected to just lie down like he was dead. He looked at his heart monitor and indeed there was always a flat line after every slope or beat…

"Sasuke-kun," he heard and saw at the foot of the bed was Karin, "Oyasuminasai." She said and stood right beside his bed. She slowly leaned down, her hand cupping his cheek. He was cold… he knew his skin felt cold. Usually when he was up and about, he'd push her away if she did something like this, but right now he was just tired, and couldn't find any strength to shove her off. Her lips touched his and all he could do was resist the urge to bite her. She pressed harder, as she always did when she'd beg him to respond, but like any other kiss she gave him, he didn't heed her plea…

She pulled away and just looked down and walked away from him, turning off the lights. It was pointless really…

She'd never learn that his heart will never be hers…

It already belonged to someone else anyway, and he wasn't planning on taking it back anytime soon…

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"Kabuto-san," the person said as she opened the door and stepped in, Kabuto looked up from his work and stared at the newcomer…

"Ah, Karin-chan, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he said and smiled at her; she smiled weakly and took the other chair, observing him only…

"Why did you guys return so late?" she asked curiously, "Usually Sasuke-kun returns after his check up or at least before lunch." She stated. Kabuto sighed; Karin was like a little sister to him ever since Orochimaru had adopted her since she was four. He adjusts in his seat and faces her; he brings his eyeglasses up higher…

"Karin, "he said, "Maybe it's best if you just give up on him already," he said, and Karin's fist clenches, "He's unstable… and you know why he's only staying here. He wants to stop living already and sooner or later his heart will give in. I know it's hard, but if you keep this up, you're only end up getting hurt more than you already are." He finished, and Karin only stared at her clenched fist…

"I… I can't," she stammered, "Not after what happened to my mother, I can't… he's the reason she died… he's the reason I left, but he never knew that." She stated and tried to fight back the tears threatening to fall, "I tried to hate him for what he had caused… but I know that it was all my fault… he was my anchor… he helped me see the light once more that there are far worse things more in life than just witnessing a loved one's death." She said and looked up at Kabuto with pure determination, "And I'm not giving up until he learns to see what he had made me see the first time I met him… he gave me back my purpose… and I'm going to give back his." She finished and stood up from the chair and exited the room…

Kabuto only sighed at her. She still didn't get it at all. Sasuke already had a purpose, and that was to stay here and help the medics find a way for human evolution. And besides, if she really learns what it is both Orochimaru and he was really up to, then she won't be able to do anything at all…

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Suigetsu was outside Juugo's room, he was tasked to guard him in case he goes berserk again and he'll have to hold him down until medics arrived and sedate him. He saw Karin walking to the hallway and just decided to annoy her, or strike a conversation…

"Out for a late midnight stroll four eyes?" he asked and expected her to snap at him, but surprisingly she didn't and only heaved a sigh. She stopped and turned to him, he gestured to the chair right across of the hall. She walked to it and sat down…

"Sasuke's under confinement again, did you know?" she said…

"Of course I do," he replied, "its hard not to when all the doctors have been rushing to meet him and strap him." She sighed once more and looked at her nails, suddenly finding her nails interesting…

"What do you live for Suigetsu?" she asked and stared at him in the eye. It was only at this time that Suigetsu took his precious time in observing and looking for an answer. He didn't know exactly how long it was the both of them had been quiet, but when he opened his mouth, it wasn't exactly what she was expecting anyway…

"I don't know… I guess I just wanted to rub it in my folks face that I could have been a great kid had they only took the time to take care of me." He replied and Karin tilted her head at him…

"Why do you want to do that? I'm sure they're proud of you." He shook his head at her and ruffled his hair. The time when he asks the orphanage where his parents were, they would only look at him in pity and he never liked that look. When he finally convince the head to tell him where they were, he was told they left him in the doorstep with a good amount of money and a letter. The letter was given to him, and when he finally learned how to read, he realized they didn't want him because he was an unwanted child…

He was sold to the orphanage. Apparently, his mother was knocked up way young and his birth would only make her reputation go down quickly than his mother could climb. He was never wanted… his mother agreed… her signature was signed in the contract of secrecy…

"Let's just say… I don't want to talk about it. You?" he asked and stared at her, "What do you live for?"

"Sasuke-kun." Was all she answered him. It was always Sasuke… everything she did was for Sasuke, "Do me a favour though, don't take it too hard on Sasuke next time." She said and stood up to leave him. He scoffed…

"I wouldn't dream of it because he'd be dead if I would go on all out." He said and flexed his arm, "I mean look at this!" he gestured to his bicep. She only rolled her eyes at him and waved him off…

"Yeah right, like you could ever beat him." She said and it was his turn to roll his eyes…

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It's been a while since Sasuke was strapped inside the room. It was mandatory he'd be placed inside it if his heart starts skipping a beat again, because there are often times like these when his heart would just stop and stay like that longer than usual. They need to make sure his heart was at least a bit stable…

Orochimaru had been monitoring him ever since he came back from the hospital, and right now he was sitting and waiting for his experiment to finish up and maybe call in his next test subject and see if it went well, he wouldn't want to risk Sasuke now would he? He sighed as he just watched the rise and fall of Sasuke's chest. Well at least he was still breathing. There was a distant _ding _in the background and he sighed and stood up, retrieving the finished small vial he had just prepared, the sliding door slid open and he looked behind and saw Kabuto arrive…

"Ah, just in time." He said and motioned for him to sit down, "I was just going to send the test subject up." He said and Kabuto just began to press the walkie talkie…

"It's alright I'll do it." He said and placed his mouth near the mouthpiece, "Send the test subject up to the test lab right now."

"_Right away." _The personnel replied and he placed it back down and turned to look at Orochimaru. He approached him and eyed the small purple vial in his hands…

"Are you sure that'll work?" he asked and Orochimaru just shrugged…

"It's always best to start with small amounts Kabuto," he said and took out a syringe and hand it out to him, "I thought I already taught you that." Kabuto nodded at him and went to sterilize the needle…

"You did," he said and then turned to him, "What I meant was, do you think that vial will work?"

"Well that's why we're testing it aren't we?" he asked and then the sliding doors slid open once more and in came two scientists with a patient looking very dazed. They gently laid him down on one of the metal beds and strapped him down in case he gets out of control…

Orochimaru tapped the syringe and then proceeded to inject it to the person once the wires had been attached to the monitors and to the test subject. They use one person at a time until they get wrong, which is why they don't always have people dying on them, to make things less suspicious. And because he has a lot of scientists working here, they barely got any leaks of reports about illegal experiments… which is exactly what they are doing right now…

His only comfort was that he was doing this for the better of humanity, and sooner or later, their discovery will see the light and he'll be remembered throughout history and will never be forgotten as he once was. No one could ever outshine him once he perfected it and pave way for a much more convenient way for humans to evolve, and Sasuke was only a part of it… but rather a very large part. He dismissed the other scientists and remained there, observing the test subject…

They need to see and rule out side effects first of course. He turned to Kabuto…

"Prepare the empty room," he said, his eyes darting back to the strapped person, "We'll be watching him from there." Kabuto nodded at him and left the room. He sat back down on his chair and looked back at the mix of chemicals and alterations of DNA he had made and saved it in one of the protected files in their database. No one form the other labs should ever hear word of this… especially not Tsunade's labs…

As much as he'd hate to reflect about their past acquaintance in college, he just can't help but recall the way he would always watch her scare the other guys. Yes, he would admit he was quite taken by her, but it never lasted that long because he saw her as a competition… a very tight competition that he needs to outshine fast. They were always neck and neck, and that was just unacceptable. Sigh, they would have made a great team though…

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Apparently, he didn't know just how long he had stayed awake, but he could clearly see that the sun was just about to rise. He couldn't care less; all he could think about was Hinata. They lied to him. They said she'd be consumed by hate, but she was far from being bitter to the world. She had struggled through her life, yet still she remained as gentle and caring. If anything changed, it was that she was wiser and stronger emotionally…

Not that he was taking credit…

She definitely grown and had been successful so far, and just seeing her and talking to her was now giving him second thoughts about his view in the world. Should he ask them permission to go and visit her, she did manage to say where she was staying at. What if they won't? What would he do anyway if he did meet her? He sighed, she was filling his thoughts more and more with lots of possibilities… what could his life be had his family not died and left him alone?

He mentally chuckled at his ridiculous predicament. Here he was strapped in a bed and all he could do was wish he was dead. Was he really this pathetic? He's pretty much sure that he could do anything, and aside from his heart condition he's pretty much fine and qualified for any job the world throws at him… unless of course he'd be constantly hitting things. He sighed, the sun was already up, and he was already starting to feel light headed…

He should probably head to sleep now anyways, in a few hours Karin would come by and wake him up… or one of the doctors or people who are working here…

If before he wanted to die… now he wanted to live…

At least he should make his life worth remembering where people could talk about him just like his family. They made some memories while they still lived… so why couldn't he? His life is already as boring as it could get. He ain't that inexperienced in the outside world and he didn't have a choice but to be a shut-in since he was rarely allowed above ground. All this thoughts were really taxing… its funny when you think about a lot of things when all you could do was lie down in a room…

He definitely should get some sleep…

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Sakura had just gotten in Naruto's apartment; she had called him a while ago and had informed him she'll be staying the night. She just needs some company and share what she's feeling about her meeting with Sasuke. She hasn't told Naruto yet, but she will once he arrives and settles down. She dropped her bag and just sat on the couch. He wasn't here yet, and frankly she was thankful about that. She still needs some mental preparation…

She was so confused… she just saw him and all she could do was look at him! She couldn't even utter a hi or whatever until he had to leave. He probably thinks she's weird already, but he couldn't blame her because after years she had just seen him and she still haven't straighten out her feelings yet! Of course a part of her denies she still has feelings for him, but a part of her still couldn't understand what she actually feels when he was around…

This was just so unfair! Why was she always stuck in the middle of things?! Why does she always have to choose what's the right thing to do? Why is she always given these options? She just started crying because inside she just couldn't understand herself… should she just tell Naruto that they should call it quits because she finally saw Sasuke again, alive and well? But that would be unfair, what about all those good times they shared and that laughter and kisses and hugs and everything they did together?

She knows she loves Naruto… but there's a part of her that tells her she wants Sasuke too!

She can't have them both, but sooner or later she's gonna have to choose. She mustn't let Naruto see her this way. She's a complete mess… she can't think straight and now she's crying her heart out to no one! Maybe she should see a psychologist or something. Maybe that'll straighten her out. But right now she needs someone to hold her tight and tell her honestly what it is she should do… but she's not going to do it looking like this…

She grabbed her handkerchief and patted her eyes dry and went to the bathroom to make sure she doesn't look like she had just cried. After a few minutes, Naruto finally came and she was all freshened up and looked like she hadn't been crying at all…

"Tadaima!" he beamed at her and she giggled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a loving kiss. Naruto placed his hands on her waist and pulled her in more, deepening the kiss. She pulled away and smiled at him…

"Okaeri nasai." She replied and pulled away, "How was your experimental work?" she asked and he pouted…

"Tiring, I got a headache from the tons of papers I should read once I take over." He said and she raised her eyebrow at him…

"Take over? Who said you were taking over?" he pouted at her and placed a hand over his chest…

"I'm hurt Sakura-chan that you don't have enough faith in me that'll I'll get the job the same as my father." She only smiled at him and wrapped her arms behind him…

"Of course I do…" she said, "But you're still a long way from it." She added and began to heat some water. He sighed and loosened his tie a bit…

"So… why'd you come over? Instead of course of the fact that you are missing your hottest boyfriend." He added with a wink at her and she rolled her eyes…

"I have to tell you something." She said with a serious tone and he immediately stiffened…

"Oh Kami," he muttered, "Please don't be pregnant I mean I know we did it a couple of times…" he muttered and she blushed deep red, "… not that I wouldn't want a reason to marry you…" wait… did he just say that? Was that an indirect proposal, or was it just a slip of a tongue? Anyway, she shook the thoughts out of her head and slapped the back of his head…

"Of course not idiot!" she said and he immediately shut up and sighed in relief, "I saw someone today, and you wouldn't be able to guess who it is." She said and he looked at her, waiting for her to continue before another misunderstanding, "I saw Sasuke."

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**AN: **okay, so apparently, this chapter is also short, trust me guys I tried to make it longer, but bear with me and this is as fast as I can get with my very late updates… I'll try not to be lazy next time and update as my schedule says so and make chapters… once again, I'll make sure that I can at least give you a bit of satisfaction in making the last three chapters very short… and last but not the least…

**Thank you also to the following for reviewing…**

_YamiHinata, Saki-Hime_

**to the following who added "Complications" to their story alerts…**

_luvhinata, kiss2lips…_

**And to those who added it to their fave lists…**

_Red-Hot Habanero, luvhinata_

**Thank you guys! :***


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